Once Upon a Time
by AnyDreamWillDo19
Summary: Levy has a new book. What a surprise. But when her innocent collection of stories turns into something much more sinister, the mages of Fairy Tail must take up arms to not only saved their loved ones from an ancient curse, but to protect their kingdom from a new, and very powerful, enemy. Featured ships: NaLu, Gruvia, Jerza, GaLe, and ElfEver, rated T just in case
1. Chapter 1

**ONCE UPON A TIME  
a Fairy Tail fanfic by ElodieKumari94**

**A/N:** Hello! I'm Elodie, and I'm the author of this fanfic! For those of you who've never read my stuff, I'm super glad you clicked on this story and I hope you like what you read! For those of you who are returning from some of my stories, thanks for keeping up with me, my loyal followers (even those of you who want to kill me right now because I've been really bad at updating my other stories *guilty cough*)! I came up with this idea while I was in my bed trying to sleep and my mind was wandering. I'm sure the whole Fairy Tail vs. Fairy Tale thing is overdone, but I think I've cooked up a tale that's pretty original here (or as original as fanfics get). It's basically all of my favorite pairings in Fairy Tail matched with some of my favorite fairy tales (most of them Disney congruent) and wrapped them all up in a bow. Or so I hope. But don't think this is going to be some wishy-washy lovey-dovey cute little tale for eight-year-olds or whatever. I've got big plans for this story, lots of twists and drama with a big slice of good old fashion shipping romance on the side!

Anyway, here's the first chapter, sort of a prologue chapter to set the story, but I hope you enjoy it and I hope it gets you interested enough to follow the story!

* * *

**DISCLAIMER:** I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL OR THE FAIRY TALES USED IN THIS STORY. FAIRY TAIL BELONGS TO HIRO MASHIMA AND THE OTHER STORIES BELONG TO THE GRIM BROTHERS/DISNEY/WHATEVER COMPANY CLAIMS RIGHTS TO THEM, I HONESTLY DON'T CARE, THEY'RE JUST NOT MINE. THE ART USED IN THE COVER IS NOT MINE, I JUST PULLED A BUNCH OF PICTURES OFF GOOGLE AND CUT AND PASTED THEM TOGETHER. IF YOU SEE A PICTURE YOU MADE JUST SEND ME A PM AND I'LL GIVE YOU CREDIT FOR IT.

"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use'."

So there.

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**Chapter One: The Beginning of the End**

"Do we have to come here _every time_ we go through town?"

"Yes, Jet, we do! This is my favorite bookshop!"

Jet sighed as he and Droy, who was, as usual, munching on a turkey leg, watched Levy pull herself across the bookshelf on the rolling ladder, eagerly searching the book bindings for Mavis knew what. The bookstore was a small, dusty little place in a corner of Hargeon's market street. Every inch of wall, even around the doorways and windows, was covered by bookshelves, and every shelf was lined with volumes of novels, encyclopedias, biographies, and anything and everything else a rabid bookworm like Levy could dream of. More rows of shelves lined the back of the store while the middle was taken up with rickety tables stacked with even more books. The clerk's desk was at the front of the room by the front door, and an old man with fluffy white hair on the sides of his head and glasses perched precariously on his nose was sitting back in his chair, snoring with his feet propped up on the desk. The three Fairy Tail wizards, who were just passing through Hargeon on their way home from a job, were the only current customers.

"What exactly are you looking for in here, Levy?" Droy asked through a mouthful of turkey. "Haven't you scoured every single book in the store by now?"

"You never know when something new might turn up!" Levy replied, her hazel eyes twinkling with excitement as her index finger scrolled across the worn and aged spines of the books in front of her. It abruptly stopped on a particularly large volume, and a curious frown crossed her features. "For example…" she muttered as she grasped the book and pulled it away from its companions and into her hands. She leaned on the rungs of her ladder as she opened the book a flipped through the yellowing pages, the twinkling slowly growing into a dazzling light.

"What is it, Levy?" Jet asked.

"It's a book full of old fairy tales!" Levy said in wonderment. "They're well-known stories, of course, nothing new, but this… this looks like an original manuscript! Like one of the first copies ever to be printed out!"

"You could be right, little lady," said a voice behind them, and the trio turned to see that the clerk had woken up and was sitting upright on his chair, wiping a dribble of drool from the corner of his mouth. "That book is one of several we bought just recently from a man whose mother had apparently died. He said they've gone through many generations of the family before he acquired them, but he seemed quite keen to be rid of them."

Levy closed the book and gazed at the worn leather cover. The faded painting on the leather cover depicted five different stories: in the top left corner was a poor maiden standing before a dazzling, kneeling prince who was holding a glass slipper; next to the maiden and prince was a mermaid lying on a rock and gazing wistfully at a handsome sailor standing on an island; on the top right was a pair of warriors, one of them a girl disguised as a boy, fighting for their lives side by side against a horde of enemy soldiers; beneath that picture was a beautiful princess lying in a forest casket with a prince about to administer True Love's Kiss; and at the bottom left was a woman standing boldly before a terrible beast. The painting was beautiful and done with delicate care, promising adventure and romance within the pages that were bound to it, but Levy couldn't shake the strange feeling that there was something odd about the book. There was a strange aura around it that Levy had never sensed with any other work, as though this one was full of a magic all its own. Her fingers traced the letters embossed on the cover, and she could feel the tips tingling with anticipation.

"What stories are in the book, Levy?" Jet asked, pulling the little script mage out of her thoughts. Levy shook her head and opened the book again, flipping more carefully through the chapters and allowing her eyes to linger on the illustrations.

"The first one is about a servant girl," she listed off each story as she flipped through it, "who is abused by her wicked stepmother and stepsisters. She secretly goes to a ball to meet the prince with the help of her Fairy Godmother." She turned to the next chapter. "The second is about a mermaid who falls in love with a handsome sailor and makes a deal with a sea witch to become human to be with him… the third is about a woman who disguises herself as a man and goes to war to protect her father, and ends up falling in love with her commanding officer… the fourth chapter is split into two different stories, but in both of them the princess gets put under a sleeping spell and the prince has to come wake her up with True Love's Kiss."

"What's the difference between the two stories?" asked Droy curiously.

Levy studied the chapter a little more closely. "It looks like the first one is about a princess who runs away to avoid getting killed by the jealous queen, but the queen tricks her into eating a poisoned apple to make her fall asleep… and the second one is about a princess who is put to sleep by pricking her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel that's enchanted by a vengeful enchantress…"

"How can a spinning wheel make people fall asleep?"

"I think we've all seen stranger things happen, Droy."

"Good point."

Jet looked up at Levy again. "So how many stories are in that book?"

"There's only one more," Levy replied, turning to the last chapter. "It's about a girl who is imprisoned by a beast who is really a cursed prince who can only become human again if he and the girl fall in love." Levy smiled; that story seemed promising to her. She turned to Jet and Droy and asked, "do you guys think Asuka would like this book? Her birthday party is tonight and I still haven't gotten her a present."

"I dunno," said Droy, scratching his multiple chins thoughtfully. "Isn't she more into cowgirl stuff? And I can't see Bisca as being the type to read fairy tales."

"She enjoyed that book Lucy showed us," Jet pointed out. "_The Key to the Starry Heavens_ or whatever it was called."

"And I bet Alzack would love to read to her," Levy beamed. "He's such an adorable father, so completely wrapped around her little finger… you know what," she said, snapping the book shut decisively, "I'm going to get it for her. I'm sure she'll love it!"

And so, after paying for the book, Team Shadowgear left the bookstore, the fairy tale novel wrapped in paper and carried in a beaming Levy's hands. She was excited about her purchase, and she couldn't see how a little girl wouldn't love to have her own bound collection of such classic and innocent tales. This was probably why she ignored the nagging doubts and warnings in the back of her mind. Only later, though not much later, would she realize that she should have paid more attention to her keen instincts and left the book where it was. She did not yet know that she held within her arms the power that could destroy not only Fairy Tail, but the entire kingdom, and possibly the world.

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_Storybook endings, fairy tales coming true_  
_Deep down inside, we wanna believe they still do_  
_In our secretest heart, it's our favorite part of the story_  
_Let's just admit we all wanna make it to_

_Ever, ever after_  
_If we just don't get in our own way_  
_Ever, ever after_  
_It may only be a wish away_

~ "Ever Ever After" by Carrie Underwood, from _Enchanted_

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**A/N: **For those of you who've read some of my previous works, you know I like to tag songs onto chapters sometimes. I just decided on a whim that I'm going to try and match a fairy tale song with these chapters. We'll see how that goes! :)

So I think it's pretty clear which fairy tales I'm going to use. And it's probably just as obvious which pairings go with which story. What can I say, I'm a little bit cliché. But I do plan on putting my own twist on things and I hope it's entertaining enough for you! So please pretty please review with any guesses or comments on this first chapter, let me know what you think, and maybe follow the story if you're still interested!

**DISCLAIMER:** I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL OR THE FAIRY TALES USED IN THIS STORY. FAIRY TAIL BELONGS TO HIRO MASHIMA AND THE OTHER STORIES BELONG TO THE GRIM BROTHERS/DISNEY/WHATEVER COMPANY CLAIMS RIGHTS TO THEM, I HONESTLY DON'T CARE, THEY'RE JUST NOT MINE. THE ART USED IN THE COVER IS NOT MINE, I JUST PULLED A BUNCH OF PICTURES OFF GOOGLE AND CUT AND PASTED THEM TOGETHER. IF YOU SEE A PICTURE YOU MADE JUST SEND ME A PM AND I'LL GIVE YOU CREDIT FOR IT.

"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use'."

So there.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Hello, everyone! So I'm back again, and a lot sooner than I'm sure most of you expected, given my history. :P To start off, I wanna send a big shout out to **anime20, ****xEhyeh-Asher-Ehyehx, **and **Liani** for reviewing my story, as well as all of those who favorited and/or followed the story! THANK YOU GUYS! Have a digital hug and some cookies ('-') ()()()

So my best friend of 8 years, to whom I have been attached at the hip ever since I came home for the summer, went to her first day of college today, leaving me all by my lonesome. Boo hoo D"X. So in order to escape from my feelings of loneliness and abandonment, I have finished the next chapter of this story and posted it! Maybe good things do come out of grief after all. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

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**Chapter Two: Evergreen's Halloween Surprise**

"_Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you-"_

"Alzack, will you give it a rest already?" Bisca laughed. "You've been singing that all day!"

Alzack laughed as well, swinging his squealing daughter up into his arms and spinning her around as they walked through Magnolia. They were just returning home from the guild, where they had celebrated Asuka's 5th birthday, and though the guest of honor had left, they were all sure the party was still going strong in their absence. Fairy Tail really did overdo it with parties, though none of the Connell's complained; they only wanted to best parties for their beloved daughter. While Alzack walked a little was ahead with Asuka, Bisca stayed behind, watching the two people she loved the most with a glowing smile as the wagon full of her daughter's birthday presents squeaked over the pavement behind her. She maneuvered it carefully around jutting stones and potholes, not wanting it to jostle and accidentally throw something to the ground.

The Connell house resided at the outskirts of the city, closer to where the old guild hall – the one they had occupied during the last seven years – was out in the hills. It was a simple, country-western styled home, two stories, painted white with navy blue tile roof and wooden shutters. It was an old place, but Alzack and Bisca thought that gave the house character. It was like the house was speaking to them, welcoming them home, as they climbed up the creaky wooden porch and opened the squeaky screen door, Alzack chasing his daughter through the foyer, both of them laughing their heads off. Smiling and shaking her head, Bisca hurriedly transferred all of Asuka's birthday presents to her bedroom upstairs and went to join them.

Even though it was already late, the Connells played with their daughter for nearly two more hours before they finally called it quits and got her ready for bed. Finally, Asuka was sitting up in her bed, dressed in her favorite cowgirl footy pajamas, Alzack sitting on the bed with her as Bisca stood behind him, her hands on her husband's shoulders.

"Alright, Asuka," Bisca said, "are we ready for bed?"

"Chottomatte, mama!" Asuka cried gleefully. "What about a bedtime story?"

"Asuka, it's already almost 11:00! Not even five year olds should be up that late!"

"Oh, why don't we just read her one quick story?" said Alzack, turning and smiling up at his wife. "It's her birthday, after all, and she got some new storybooks from Lucy and Levy."

Bisca gave her husband a stern look. "You're just as bad as she is," she sighed. "Fine, but only one story. And you're going to have to read it to her, Alzack, because I'm going to bed."

"Arigato, mama!" Asuka cried. Rolling her eyes, Bisca bent over and kissed her daughter on the forehead and, once again, wished her a happy birthday. She then kissed Alzack and left the room, taking off her hat and pulling out her braid as she did so. When she had disappeared into the hallway, Alzack stood up and beamed at Asuka.

"Alright, sweetheart, what story do we want?" he asked, going over to the dresser, where Bisca had deposited Asuka's birthday presents. "It looks like we have two to choose from: _The Key to the Starry_ Heavens from Lucy and the fairy tale book from Shadowgear."

Alzack turned and held up the two books for Asuka to see. As Asuka frowned in deep thought, her eyes flickering from one cover to the other, Alzack had no idea how much was truly riding on this decision. No one could possibly have known that the fate of the Fiore Kingdom was now in the hands of this little five year old girl.

After several seconds, Asuka finally raised her small hand and pointed. "I want a story from Levy's book!" she declared innocently.

She had no way of knowing she had just doomed the entire world. Neither did her father.

"Alright," he said, setting Lucy's book down and carrying the old book to Asuka's bedside, opening it to the table of contents. "It looks like the first story here is Cinderella. That's a very old classic!"

"Cinderella?" Asuka asked curiously, this being the first time she has heard the fairy tales. "Wasn't she the one who went to a ball?"

Alzack smiled as he sat down next to his daughter and she snuggled close to his side. "I guess you're about to find out. Let's see… _Once Upon a Time, in a faraway land, there was a tiny kingdom. Peaceful, prosperous, and rich in romance and tradition. Here, in a stately chateau, there lived a widowed gentleman and his little daughter, Cinderella_…"

It was the most normal, innocent thing in the world, a father reading a bedtime story to his daughter. But the Connells had no idea how much danger they were putting themselves in by doing so. And now, they, along with the rest of their guild, as well as the kingdom, were going to pay the price.

* * *

"That worthless, dung-brained, dirty, miserable, ridiculous, temperamental, unreliable-"

"Whoa there, Ever, calm down," Bickslow cackled. "Did you and Elfman fight again?"

The look Evergreen threw her teammate told him everything he needed to know, as well as made him fear for his currently stone-free well-being. Evergreen and Elfman, a lot like an old married couple, fought regularly over the most ridiculous things, but this time, the Raijinshuu could tell, had been different. A very tender nerve had been struck, and the three boys could clearly see it pulsing in her temple as she stormed down the street behind them. Her body was shaking with fury and she was grinding her teeth so hard, Laxus's dragon senses could hear them protesting. She wasn't just her usual cranky; she was spitting mad.

"What kind of couple argues at a five year old girl's birthday party?" Laxus asked with a huff.

"They weren't at the party," explained Freed. "I saw them go outside a little while after Asuka blew out her candles." Turning to Evergreen, he added, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No!"

"It might help-"

"I said NO!" Evergreen snapped so shrilly, a flock of birds flew up out of their nesting tree, squawking indignantly. Bickslow and Freed frowned at her; it wasn't unusual for her to snap at them, but it was unusual for her to not talk about something bugging her. Every other time she and Elfman had an argument, she ranted about it the entire walk from the guild. Whatever they had fought about must have been really serious for her to keep her lips locked now.

"Let it go, you two," Laxus said as Freed opened his mouth again, and he closed it at once. "If Evergreen wants help, she'll ask for it."

Bickslow snorted, but neither he nor Freed said another word to Evergreen as the team continued on their way through Magnolia. It was nearing midnight, and the group had just left the guild hall and was returning to their respective apartments to rest up for work tomorrow. The road to Fairy Hills was usually their splitting point, and as soon as they reached it, Evergreen stomped down it without another word to her teammates.

"Maybe we need to have a chat with Elfman," Freed muttered. "He's clearly crossed a line tonight with Evergreen…"

"You be our guest, Freed," Bickslow said sardonically. "Don't count on me to come clean up whatever's left of you, though."

"You don't think I could handle an oaf like Elfman?!"

Laxus, who was getting tired of the arguments, cut in before another fight could break out. "Drop it, you guys. Evergreen can take care of herself. Whatever happened, she and Elfman can sort it out between them."

Leaving Evergreen alone was the second crucial mistake to be made that night.

As Evergreen stormed out of the city and up the stone, forested road that lead up to Fairy Hills, she thought back to what had happened between herself and Elfman just a few hours before. This fight had gone beyond their stupid, childish squabbles that they both secretly took pleaure in. Too many lines had been crossed. Evergreen wasn't sure this incident would be as easy to forgive and forget. She was so furious with the transformation mage, she was hardly paying attention to her surroundings. So she didn't hear when a distant clock tower began to chime the midnight hour. Nor did she notice two pairs of leafy green vinces snaking out of the undergrowth at the sides of the road and sneak across the ground after her.

She didn't notice, that is, until, at the final stroke of twelve, the vines grabbed her ankles.

Evergreen gave a shout of alarm as her feet were yanked out from under her and she fell face-first onto the road. She had barely registered that she had fallen when whatever had grabbed her began dragging her on her stomach off of the road and into the woods. Kicking and screaming, Evergreen tried to twist and fight out of her captor's grip, her nails breaking as she clawed at the ground. Twigs and rocks cut her skin and snagged her dress and hair. She managed to twist around onto her back and looked down at her ankles, seeing the vines wrapped around them dragging her away.

"What the-" Evergreen screamed again as the vines lifted her off the ground, letting her hang upside down in the air. More vines shot out from the shadows of the trees, wrapping around her arms and pulling tight, completely immobilizing her before flipping her upright.

That was when her captors stepped out from behind the trees.

There were two of them, each one about eight feet tall. Their bodies were thick green trunks covered in leaves. Their arms were wavy green stems. The feet were knarled brown roots and the hands were the vines that were currently wrapped around Evergreen's body. The most horrible part of them was their heads: they were pumpkins that were way too big for their bodies and had wicked jack-o-lanterns cut out of them. The triangular holes that made the eyes and nose and the jagged crescent that made the mouth glowed with a fiery light as they gazed upon their victim. The eyes narrowed, the mouths widened into triumphant sneers, and Evergreen could only stare at them in horror.

Still smirking, the pumpkin creatures turned and headed deeper into the forest, carrying Evergreen between them still suspended in the air. The movement shaking her out of her frozen state, Evergreen renewed her attempts at freedom, yanking at the vines and shrieking every curse she knew, but for all the difference it made she might not have moved at all. What were these things? What did they want with her? Where were they taking her? How was she going to escape? Evergreen shook her head, trying to make her glasses fall off. If she could just look at them, meet their creepy candlelit eyes, she could at least stop them moving until someone arrived to break her free… if anyone was coming to look for her, that is… someone had to be coming, with all the screaming she had done…

That was when Evergreen realized something else that was wrong. The jack-o-lantern men were letting her scream. They could have easily gagged her with their leafy fingers and kept her from calling out for help. But they didn't. They let her scream and shout for all it was worth. Why?

The pumpkin men carried her through a break in the trees, and Evergreen stopped struggling long enough to see a small, round clearing lit by the moon shining high above them. In the center of the clearing was a pumpkin twice the size of the heads of her captors combined. This pumpkin, thankfully, did not have a face nor limbs, but the immense amount of magic she sensed radiating from it somehow made it even scarier than the jack-o-lanterns. Spiraling vines and leaves were gathered around the base of the pumpkin in a pattern that was familiar but unidentifiable. Unidentifiable, that is, until Evergreen noticed the two black horses with flaming red eyes hitched to the great orange vegetable by a black harness. The vines were wheels. This pumpkin was a carriage.

A glowing outline of a square appeared on the pumpkin's face, directly in front of Evergreen, and opened like a door as a woman stepped out of it with the ease and grace of someone much younger than she appeared to be. She looked to be in her late sixties at least, her dark gray hair pulled back in a bun and way too much make-up on her heavily lidded eyes. She was dressed in a long, old fashioned puce dress with lacy cuffs on the sleeves and a ruffled white bodice latched at her throat with a large emerald broach. Her face was long and narrow, and her dark red lips were pursed in a haughty smirk as she looked down her nose at Evergreen.

"Well done, my pets," the woman said in a simpering tone. "This one will do nicely."

"What do you mean?!" Evergreen demanded furiously. "Who are you? Whatever you want me for, I won't allow it, especially not nicely! Let me go!"

The woman chuckled through her lips, clearly amused by Evergreen's protests. Rather than replying to her demands, the woman raised a spindly hand and curled one, clawed finger toward her. She stepped back from the carriage, leaving the door open, and the walking pumpkins began carrying Evergreen across the clearing toward it. This woman was kidnapping her. She was going to lock her up in her magic pumpkin carriage and take her Mavis knew where. For the first time tonight, Evergreen began to feel terror seeping into her heart.

"What are you doing?" she screamed, doubling her efforts to escape as her voice shot up both in pitch and volume. "What are you doing?! You can't do this! Stop! Please! ELFMAN!"

_"Ever!"_

Evergreen swung her head around. "Elfman?" she gasped hopefully, but rather than the hulking transformation mage, she spotted Freed, Bickslow, and Laxus bursting through the trees into the clearing. Laxus's body was surrounded by crackling yellow electricity and Freed had a black aura emanating from his body. Bickslow's dolls spun in dizzying circles around their master's head, chattering excitedly as they awaited orders to attack.

"Evergreen!" Laxus shouted and released twin bolts of lighting, aiming them at the walking jack-o-lanterns. The old woman swept her hand out in front of her, casting some sort of magic spell, and the bolts disintegrated into sparkling silver dust as Laxus was sent flying backwards, his back smacking painfully into the trunk of a nearby oak.

_"Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo!"_ the woman trilled mockingly before letting out a laugh that made even the Raijinshuu shiver.

"The woman!" Evergreen shrieked. "She's controlling these things, aim for her!"

Freed and Bickslow did the honors, the former performing one of his Dark Écritures and Bickslow sending his dolls flying at the old woman. Their spells were just as effective as Laxus's lightning had been, dissolving into dust with a flick of her wrist and throwing the mages off their feet.

"Just how powerful is this witch?!" Freed gasped, one hand on his aching back as he got unsteadily to his feet.

"Ever!" shouted Bickslow, and the three mages turned to see several green vines, twisting and writhing through air, shoot out of the carriage door and wrap around Evergreen's torso. The terrified fairy mage screamed again as the jack-o-lanterns released her and the vines yanked her into the carriage with the force of a sling-shot, the door snapping shut behind her.

_"No!"_ her three teammates shouted, leaping to their feet, prepared to use any means of magic necessary to free their comrades, but they had barely taken a step forward when the jack-o-lanterns, now empty-handed, turned and whipped out their arms, the vines extending and crashing into the chests with the force of rampaging bulls. The Raijinshuu cried out as they were once again thrown off their feet and hurtled against the trees before falling face-first into the underbrush. The old woman had barely even batted an eye as she watched the scene, and now she turned with a swirl of her skirts and hoisted herself up onto carriage seat behind the horses. She didn't even glance once at Evergreen's face, which was pressed against a yellow lit window set in in the door, her fists pounding the door as she screamed words no one could hear. With expressions that clearly expressed laughter, though couldn't make the sound themselves, the jack-o-lanterns danced across the clearing to the carriage, one jumping on the back of the carriage as the other clambered up next to the woman and grabbed the reins.

"I'll be taking my new cinder girl," the woman informed the Raijinshuu. "If you wish to retrieve her, inform Sir Elfman Strauss that the Wicked Stepmother is waiting for him."

"Elfman?" said Freed.

_"Sir?"_ exclaimed Bickslow.

Laxus growled and pushed himself from the ground. He wasn't going to wait for Elfman to get his act together and get here. He was going to save his teammate now. The jack-o-lantern at the front of the carriage snapped the reins and the horses jolted forward at full gallop, heading straight for the tree line. Ignoring Freed's calls, Laxus took after it. What the heck were they thinking? There was no way they were going to get through that thick forest riding that behemoth of transportation. He was going to catch up to them and save Evergreen, he just knew…

But Laxus had made a grave mistake in underestimating the old woman's abilities. As the carriage bolted toward the trees, she raised her hand and threw a baseball-sized orb of colored light several yards ahead of her. As the light soared between two trees, it burst into a shimmering whirlpool of colored energy, the tree branches and trunks forming a sort of archway around it. Laxus was right behind it, the jack-o-lantern making faces at him, and he caught one final glimpse of Evergreen's panicked face before the carriage ran through the light and vanished.

"EVERGREEN!" Laxus roared, leaping into the air to try and grab the tailgate of the carriage, not caring where he would end up as long as he got to rescue his friend and teammate, but the light vanished just as his hand was closing around the vine and he felt nothing but his own palm against his fingers as he crashed into the underbrush. The carriage, horses, jack-o-lanterns, and the old woman were gone, and they had taken Evergreen with them.

* * *

_They all lived happily, happily, happily ever after.  
__The couple is happily leaving the chapel eternally tied.  
__As the curtain descends there is nothing but loving and laughter.  
__When the fairy tale ends the heroine's always a bride._

_Ella the girl of the cinders  
__Did the wash and the walls and the winders,  
__But she landed a prince who was brawny and blue eyed and blond.  
__Still I honestly doubt that she could ever have done it without that crazy lady with the wand.  
_Cinderella had outside help!  
_I've got no one but me!  
__Fairy godmother, godmother, godmother, where can you be?!_

~ "Happily Ever After" from _Once Upon a Mattress_

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**A/N:** You know, writing this story kind of makes me feel like the creators of the ABC show Once Upon a Time. It's almost giving a sort of sadistic twist on beloved fairytales, isn't it? Love that show, btw. I also love this song from Once Upon a Mattress, and I thought it fit Evergreen's personality rather well, so I used it for this chapter even though it doesn't really match the theme. I tried to find a theme song for the Wicked Stepmother, but was unsuccessful. :(

Anyway, what did you guys think of Evergreen's kidnapping and my not-so-subtle clues? What's gonna happen to our favorite sarcastic fairy mage? How is Elfman going to save her? What did Evergreen and Elfman fight about? What does Asuka's new storybook have to do with all of this? I'd love to hear your guys' thoughts, so please leave a review for me! 3


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Hello lovely readers! I hope you all appreciate this moment right here, because it is very rare for me to have two chapters in two consecutive days. Round of applause for me! And a big round of applause for those of you who favorited and/or followed, as well as three loud cheers for **BlueFairy10**, my sole reviewer for the last chapter! This chapter is short and sweet, but I already have a lot of the next one written, so that should be up in the next few days!

* * *

**Chapter Three: A Man's Resolve**

"Come on, Nii-chan! Tell us what happened!"

Elfman shrunk back into the couch – quite a feat for someone who was twice the size of it – his massive arms, which were folded firmly over his equally massive pectorals, tightening as if his secret was wrapped in them. He kept his gaze firmly averted from his little sister, who was leaning insistently over him with a curious gleam in her bright blue eyes. The two of them were in the living room of the small two-story house they, along with their older sister Mirajane, called home. Mira was currently in the kitchen, washing the dishes they had used to make Asuka's birthday cake; Lisanna had been helping her before Elfman had stormed in, grumbling under his breath in a way that made the two sisters immediately recognized. Lisanna had then excused herself to interrogate him, but he was being unusual difficult tonight. Normally, Lisanna didn't even have to try and persuade him, because he'd be so ticked off he'd start ranting about how crazy Evergreen drove him the moment she or Mira showed themselves. But this time, much to Lisanna's despair, he was clammed up tight.

"I told you, Lisanna," Elfman grumbled, laying back on the couch and trying to ignore the squeak of protest it made under his weight as he turned his face into the cushions, detangling one arm to drape it over his head. "It's nothing you need to be concerned about!"

"But you always tell me when you and Evergreen fight!"

"A man can keep his secrets!"

"But a man does not hurt a woman," said Mirajane suddenly, and Elfman lowered his arm just enough to see her glaring down at him over the couch, a soapy wooden spoon held threateningly in her hand. "I know Evergreen can be abrasive and over-dramatic, but Elfman, if you said something that really upset her this time-"

A sudden, very loud crack of thunder exploded outside as lightning flashed through the curtained window, causing the three siblings to jump. Elfman sat up as Lisanna walked over and pulled back the drapes, frowning slightly. "That was weird," she muttered. "I don't remember a storm coming-"

Another loud crack of thunder, and the door to the house burst open with a bang. Lisanna cried out and Elfman jumped to his feet, ready to protect his sisters as Mira directed her spoon toward the door. When they saw Laxus step over the threshold, they almost relaxed, but the expression on his face suddenly made them even more tense.

"Laxus," Mira began, lowering her spoon and gazing at him worriedly, "what's-?"

She never got a chance to finish the sentence as the 2nd generation Dragon Slayer's eyes landed on Elfman and he launched forward, grabbing the male transformation mage by the collar. Elfman, despite being much bigger than Laxus, found himself pinned to the wall by his throat, his vision full of white sparks and a lump forming on the back of his head as the force of its impact put cracks in the plaster.

"Laxus!" Mira shouted angrily, but the lightning mage paid her absolutely no heed.

"What did you do?" he snarled in Elfman's face. "What did you do to Evergreen?!"

"Laxus, stop!" cried Lisanna, running to her sister's side. "This isn't-"

"I didn't do anything," Elfman growled, grabbing Laxus's wrists to try and push him away. "We argued, but that's-"

"Something happened!" Laxus insisted. "Evergreen is gone, and I know it has something to do with you!"

Mirajane forced herself between the two men and pushed them apart with surprising strength. "Laxus," she said in a clear, commanding tone, "you need to calm down. What do you mean, Evergreen is gone?"

Laxus still looked like he wanted to throttle Elfman, so Mira kept both of her hands braced against his chest and gave him a warning glare. One look at her, and Laxus knew better than to keep fighting; Mira was the only one capable of keeping him in check. "Someone kidnapped her," he said, his face still an angry growl as he clenched his fists at his side. "Some old lady with these big jack-o-lantern creatures and a pumpkin-carriage took her through a magic portal of some kind. Before she took her, the lady said that if we wanted her back, we had to tell Elfman Strauss the Wicked Stepmother is waiting for him."

"Cinder girl?" Lisanna repeated. "Wicked stepmother? _Magic pumpkins?_"

"It sounds like something from a fairytale gone bad," said Mira forebodingly. "But why is this woman trying to get at Elfman? How does she even know him?"

"How the heck should I know?" snapped Laxus. "Freed and Bickslow are working on reopening the portal they vanished through, but I'll bet Elfman is the only one who can find it again and go after them."

The trio looked up at Elfman, who was still leaning against the wall, for once completely quiet. His face was pale and stony. "They kidnapped Evergreen?" he said in a low voice.

Laxus took another step toward Elfman and was held back by Mirajane. "Yes," he said, "they kidnapped Evergreen. And it sounds like they're only using her to get to you. So I'm going to ask you again: _what did you do?"_

"What makes you think I did anything?" demanded Elfman. "Because that woman told you to send me after them? I have no idea why she would call me out!"

"Evergreen was extremely ticked off at you," Laxus pressed. "More than usual. Did you say something to her that put her in danger somehow?"

Elfman pushed himself away from the wall and made to have a go at Laxus, but Mira put a hand to his chest and pushed him back, keeping herself wedged between them. Lisanna stood behind her sister, her eyes flickering anxiously between the two men's murderous expressions.

"What Evergreen and I argue about," Elfman snarled, "is none of your business, Dreyar. I seriously doubt that whatever we said has anything to do with a crazy witch who seems to want to celebrate Halloween a few months early. However, if Ever's in trouble, I _am_ going to find her and bring her back."

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Nii-chan?" fretted Lisanna. "This sounds like some kind of trap. We don't know what we're up against-"

"That doesn't matter, Lisanna," Elfman insisted. "If this Wicked Stepmother person is trying to pick a fight with me, I'll give her one, and if she's hurt Ever in any way, I'll give her a lot more than that! A real man would do nothing less!"

Laxus continued to stare suspiciously at the transformation mage, but, seeing the sincere determination and passion in Elfman's eyes, he nodded once to show his understanding. Feeling that the pair was done lunging at each other's throats, Mira lowered her hands and stepped out from between them.

"Alright," she said decisively, moving toward the coat rack and grabbing her jacket. "I'm going to go tell the Master what's happened. If there are enough people still in the guild hall, maybe we can start a search party for Evergreen."

"I can go get Natsu," offered Lisanna. "Maybe his dragon senses will pick up something to help us find her."

"Good idea," Mira nodded approvingly. "Laxus, you'll need to show Elfman where Evergreen disappeared-"

"I was already planning on that," Laxus snapped, turning and opening the front door. The four of them set out at a run, Lisanna heading off towards Natsu's cottage and her siblings plus Laxus sprinting toward the guild. Mira branched off as they approached the guild hall while Laxus and Elfman continued on to the road that led to Fairy Hills.

"Elfman," said Laxus, still glaring at Elfman out of the corner of his eye as they sprinted through the city, "what exactly did you and Evergreen fight about before? I still think that is the key to this."

Elfman shot Laxus one dirty look before turning determined eyes back to the road. "It doesn't matter anymore. What's important now is that I'm going to save her, no matter what it takes!"

* * *

_Down an unknown road to embrace my fate.  
__Though the road may wonder, it will lead me to you.  
__And a thousand years would be worth the wait.  
__It may take a lifetime, but somehow I'll see it through._

_And I won't look back.  
__I can go the distance.  
__And I'll stay on track.  
__No, I won't accept defeat.  
__It's an uphill slope, but I won't lose hope.  
_'_Til I go the distance, and my journey is complete._

_Like a shooting star,  
__I can go the distance.  
__I will search the world.  
__I will face it's harms.  
__I don't care how far.  
__I can go the distance,  
_'_Til I find my hero's welcome waiting in your arms._

~"Go the Distance" by Lucas Grabeel, from _Hercules_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Aaaaaand I'm back! This story is really cookin'! I love it when it does that :D Anyway, to start off, a big thanks to **BlueFairy10** and **RoseGuardian23** for reviewing my last chapter! You two are my favorite people right now :) Anyway, since this chapter is rather short, I'm going to be posting two chapters tonight once again. The original plan was to just add this one at the beginning of the next one, but the next one ran kind of long, so I decided to split them. Anyway, here's the first one! Hope you enjoy :)

* * *

**Chapter Four: Poor, Unfortunate Souls**

By noon the next day, everybody in the guild had heard the news of Evergreen's capture. A few hours after noon, Elfman and the Raijinshuu, as well as the search party they had lead, had returned to the guild hall empty handed after searching not only the entire city, but the cities, forests, and mountains surrounding them within at least a twenty-mile radius. But nothing had come from it. There was no sign of Evergreen, the Wicked Stepmother, or any sort of walking garden vegetation. The four men met in Makarov's office to speak with the master for some time before departing, the Raijinshuu heading for their usual table in the guild hall while Elfman sat at the bar, staring deep into the untouched mug of coffee Mira had made for him.

"It's just so sad," Lucy sighed, looking over at the transformation mage's bulking figure as she sat at a table with Lisanna and Erza, who was eating a slice of strawberry cake. "I've never seen him look so dejected."

"He hasn't made a single comment about being a man since last night," said Lisanna sadly. "It's like all the manliness has gone out of him."

Lucy turned back around and sighed. "I wish there was something we could do. We participated in the search, but not even Natsu or Gajeel could track her down with their Dragon senses. It's like she simply… vanished."

"This Wicked Stepmother character seemed to want him to follow her," Erza observed, swallowing a bite of her cake. "And if that's the case, she wouldn't have disappeared without leaving some kind of trail to follow. We'll just have to keep looking."

**BANG.** "GRAAAAAAAY!"

The doors burst open with a crash and Natsu stormed into the guild hall, his fists flaming and his onyx eyes looking more dragonlike than usual as they roved over the heads of the guild members. Happy was flying overhead, giving his teammate a wide berth and looking anxious. Hardly anyone turned their head, as they were accustomed to the Fire Dragon Slayer's storming in in a rage, but Lucy stood up. "Natsu!" she said rather angrily. "What is wrong with-"

"_I couldn't find her!"_ Natsu raged. "I couldn't track down Evergreen! Even with my Dragon senses, I picked up nothin'! So now I'm ticked off and looking for someone to take it out on! Where the heck has that ice princess got to?!"

"He's really fired up, Lucy," Happy said fretfully. "Maybe you should just let him beat you up."

"Don't even think about it, Cat!"

Erza put her fork down and shot Natsu her signature death glare. "Natsu, keep your voice down," she ordered, instantly putting out the Dragon Slayer's fire with a blanket of fear. "Gray isn't here."

"_Nani?!_" Natsu cried. "So that's why he didn't take part in the search! Where'd he go?!"

"Apparently he agreed to go out on a job with Juvia," said Lisanna with a sly smile.

"With _Juvia?!_" Lucy gasped. "How'd she rope him into that one?"

"Apparently she just asked, and he accepted," Lisanna replied.

"Gray _loooooooves_ her!" Happy trilled with a high-pitched giggle.

"I've actually been wondering about that," said Lisanna. Holding a hand up to her mouth, she stage-whispered, "Do you think he's finally returning her feelings?"

"I doubt it," said Erza bluntly. "He told me that he officially turned down her confession at the party in Mercurius Castle."

"Nani?!" Lisanna and Lucy cried.

"Boy, I'll bet she loved that," chuckled Happy.

"She has been acting a little differently lately," Lisanna said slowly, frowning at the table. "I haven't noticed her stalking Gray as much. Do you think what Gray said had an effect on her?"

"Of course it did," said Lucy wisely. "A girl doesn't just get over a rejection like that. Especially a girl like Juvia."

"Who cares about all of that?!" exclaimed Natsu, slamming his hand on the table. Erza glared at him as her cake wiggled dangerously, but he ignored her. "Lisanna, when did they leave?"

"I think it was late this morning," replied Lisanna. "Juvia said they would be back later tonight. She seemed really excited about it."

"Of course she is," sighed Lucy. "She's going with Gray. That poor, unfortunate soul. I wonder what it'll take to get him to love her back?"

"Hopefully not a kidnapping," murmured Lisanna, and the group looked back at Elfman, who was still staring into his coffee mug as though it would somehow tell him the answers he so desperately needed.

* * *

"Daddy," said Asuka as Alzack was tucking her in to bed that night, "what do you think happened to Evergreen? Will she be okay?"

Alzack sighed heavily as he sat down at the edge of his daughter's bed, the fairy tale book in his hands. "I don't know, sweetheart. I sure hope so."

"Oh." Asuka brightened up suddenly, hugging her new stuffed pinto tightly. "I'll bet her Fairy Godmother is going to save her, just like Cinderella!"

"You think so?" Alzack chuckled. "Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see. In the meantime, how about another story?"

"Yes, please!" Asuka cheered, climbing into her father's lap as he opened the book to the place he had marked it the night before. "What's the next one, daddy?"

"Well, let's see… it looks like it's the Little Mermaid," he read the title, smiling at his daughter. "I think you'll like this one, Asuka. And look at what the heading says! _Somewhere under the sea and beyond your imagination is an adventure in fantasy._"

"Ooh!" Asuka jumped up and down in her father's lap excitedly. "Read it, daddy, read it!"

"Haha, alright, alright, settle down! Let me see…"

* * *

_The seaweed is always greener i__n somebody else's lake.  
__You dream about going up there,  
__But that is a big mistake.  
__Just look at the world around you r__ight here on the ocean floor.  
__Such wonderful things surround you!  
__What more is you lookin' for?_

_Under the sea!  
__Under the sea!  
__Darling it's better d__own where it's wetter,  
__Take it from me!  
__Up on the shore they work all day.  
__Out in the sun they slave away.  
__While we devotin' f__ull time to floatin'  
__Under the sea!_

~"Under the Sea" by Samuel E. Wright from _The Little Mermaid_


	5. Chapter 5

***activate River Song voice* SPOILERS**

Crap, I forgot to put this on the last chapter. For those of you who don't read the manga, these next few chapters contain some MAJOR spoilers! You have hereby been forewarned! Okay, on with the story!

* * *

**Chapter Five: Juvia's Metamorphosis**

Juvia was having the Best. Day. _Ever._

Gray had finally agreed to partner with her on a job. They had just taken down a large sea monitor (large meaning about the size of a family carriage plus six-foot spinal fin and twelve-foot tail) that had been terrorizing a seaside village not far from Hargeon. Their flawless teamwork had made the job almost effortless, and without Natsu or Erza around to aggravate things, there was very little damage done on the side. This, along with the 50,000 jewel reward they got for successfully completing the mission, had put Gray in such a good mood, he agreed to stop at a small diner on the beach for a sit-down dinner.

With Juvia.

Just the two of them.

_Alone._

The girl was on cloud nine, though she tried hard not to show it too much; she knew that would only annoy her Gray-sama, since he did not reciprocate her feelings. He probably thought this as nothing more than two comrades eating seafood together, which, she reflected sadly, it was. Still, this was the closest thing to a date Juvia had ever managed to get with her beloved, and she was bound and determined not to mess it up.

Shockingly enough, Juvia was not the only one happy with how things were turning out. Gray was pleasantly surprised by how much he was enjoying his extended time alone with the water mage. Gray had been more than a little reluctant when she suggested they do a job together, but she hadn't begged her the way she usually did and the pay was good, so he'd decided to give her the benefit of doubt. And now he was very glad that he had. Her attitude around him had changed since their return from Crocus; of course she made it clear she was still in love with him, but she was less clingy and didn't seem to pine after him as much. She still hung around him a lot at the guild, but her company no longer felt stalker-ish or desperate. Gray thought maybe his straight-up turn-down at the Crocus party had done some good after all. Maybe they could eventually work their relationship down to friend/comrade status, rather than their current one of a one-sided couple.

"The ocean looks so peaceful and beautiful," Juvia sighed. "Doesn't it, Gray-sama?"

Gray looked up at Juvia over his bowl of clam chowder. She was gazing dreamily over the railing of the deck on which they were dining, her hand absentmindedly twirling her fork in her pasta salad. She wore her usual blue hat with her hair down, her periwinkle locks falling over her slender shoulders like a soft waterfall. Her pale face was dusted with a light blush on her cheek bones and her eyes looked like sapphire crystals in the setting sun. Gray's spoonful of chowder fell back into his bowl with a plop.

"Erm, yeah," Gray said quickly, putting his spoon down and sitting up, clearing his throat loudly. "Yes, it's very, um, serene…"

He glanced once at Juvia, then reverted his gaze to the gentle waves ebbing back and forth on the shore below. Juvia looked over at him and noticed his eyes suddenly become sad and pained as he gazed out at the ocean. He'd had that same look when they had all returned from the Grand Magic Games. Juvia still didn't know what that face was about, but seeing it hurt her more than she could bear. She wanted to take his hand, but knowing he would immediately reject it, she restrained herself and simply leaned toward him, wanting to show him that she was there for him.

"Did Juvia make you think of something sad again?" she asked. "Gomen'nasai, Gray-sama, Juvia didn't mean-"

"Oh, no, Juvia," Gray assured her, forcing a small smile as he shook his head. "It's not you. I didn't mean to spoil your good mood."

"Don't worry about it," she said, her face flushing. Mavis, even when he was sad, that little smile of his was _gorgeous._ It made her heart race while simultaneously making her feel like she was floating on top of water. She wished he would smile for her more, rather than the usual wary frown he gave her whenever she approached him. "Would it help for you to talk about it?" Juvia asked tentatively. "Juvia's always willing to listen if you want to get something off your chest."

Juvia held back a disappointed sigh. There it was again, that frown full of suspicion. She had overstepped her boundaries again. But maybe… Juvia might have imagined it, but she thought she saw something hesitate in his eyes, as though he was tempted to take up on her offer. And he was; he had heard the sincere concern and compassion in her tone and, giving the way things were going so far, thought it might be worth the risk. It would be nice to release some of the pain he was keeping locked up in his heart. Erza was always telling him off for trying to bear his burdens alone, and if he was honest with himself, she had good reason to. It might be good to share his pain with someone else. It wasn't like Juvia was going to blurt his secrets to anyone; actually, he didn't even know why he was keeping Ultear's demise to himself. But he was afraid. Afraid of showing weakness, afraid of what telling Juvia would do to their relationship. Sharing something so personal would forge a deeper connection to her than he was comfortable with, and not because of her habit of stalking him. He had already seen evidence of what happened to everyone who got close to him…

"It's just…" he began, struggling with his own doubts and emotions, "seeing the ocean… reminds me of people I've lost."

Juvia had perked up as he spoke, her eyes widening in surprise. He had actually opened up to her, just a crack, but still enough for her to catch a glimpse of what he was hiding behind those dark blue eyes. And that was good enough for Juvia. But he was sad. He was lonely. He was thinking about things that hurt him. No, no, Juvia couldn't have that. No. Definitely not. She had to cheer him up!

"Well, I'm sure those people wouldn't want you making such a face when you're thinking of them," she said with a smile, figuratively wedging her foot in that crack, not trying to pry it open any further, but keeping it open so the connection stayed alive, hoping that her words would bring her beloved some form of comfort.

Gray's eyes locked on Juvia's, and she was sure her face was burning brighter than the setting sun. She tried to force a careful composure to mask her melting heart as Gray gazed at her, the caution and trepidation in his expression replaced with awe. She had responded to that extremely well, accepting the information he had given her and not pressing for more, letting him know that he didn't have to continue if he didn't want to. Her words had even made Gray feel a bit better, just like she had when they returned from the Grand Magic Games. How did she know how to do that?

Deciding how wasn't important, Gray smiled again, a true smile this time. "You're right. Of course, you're right. Arigato, Juvia."

_Keep it together, Juvia,_ Juvia chanted to herself, practically breaking a sweat in the effort of not melting into a big fangirl puddle. _Please, please, _please_ keep it together, it's going so well, don't overreact, don't screw up, you can do it Juvia, Juvia, Juvia…_

Forcing her breath to remain even, Juvia put her fork down and leaned forward on her elbows, smiling sweetly at her beloved. "Gray-sama," she said, "after we finish eating, do you want to go for a walk on the beach with Juvia? Juvia wants to find seashells to make a necklace for Asuka, since Juvia had nothing to give her for her birthday yesterday." _Not at all just because Juvia wants to take a romantic walk on the beach with the most wonderful man in the world, no not at all, this is strictly birthday present business, please say yes, Gray-sama, please, please, pretty _please_…_

Gray cocked his head to the side and looked at her curiously, and Juvia clamped her hands around her arms, pinching herself in order to keep herself under control. Finally he said, "You know what? Sure. We've still got a few hours till we have to be back at the guild, anyway."

Juvia sat back and sighed happily, beaming at Gray as her heart went over the moon. "That's right!" she said, her voice rather high pitched. She cleared her throat hastily and added, "Alright! Okay. Sounds good."

Gray gave her a bemused look and gave a half smile, chuckling once before picking up his spoon. Juvia felt like she wanted to die, but she satisfied herself with laughing with him and forcing her attention back to her salad. _Yes!_ She'd managed to bag another few hours with Gray-sama all to herself! If she could just keep it together until they got back to the guild, maybe Gray would agree to go on more jobs with her, and maybe, eventually, after a few months or maybe a year, maybe longer, Gray would discover that he had feelings for her too and all of her dreams could finally start coming true… maybe…. Hey, at least it was progress!

The pair quickly finished their meal and paid, then they headed down to the beach, Juvia skipping (okay, so she still didn't have the self-control thing completely down), and Gray following at a walk. Leaving their shoes on the beach, the two Fairy Tail mages walked through the ankle-deep surf, the cool sand squishing between their toes as they picked up shells wherever they were found. Juvia chattered the entire time, commenting on the bright colors the setting sun was throwing across the violet sky above them and squealing in delight every time they found a particularly pretty shell. A number of times she grabbed Gray by the arm and dragged him forward at a run when she saw a shell in the deeper surf, but strangely enough, Gray didn't mind. Nor did he mind that the legs of his pants were getting wet, despite him having rolled them up to keep them out of the water, or that his hands were getting cold and sandy from picking up shells. He was just happy for the distraction, and Juvia was pretty amusing in the way she was getting so excited. Juvia's heart soared again whenever she saw him smile or laugh, knowing that, for once, _she_ was the cause of his joy.

"This one would be a perfect middle piece!" Juvia cried gleefully, crouching down to snatch a long, spirally shell from the surf and examining it at eye-level, not at all concerned about the hem of her skirt trailing in the water. "Juvia almost has all the shells she- oh, Gray-sama, look at _that_ one!"

She grabbed Gray's arm again and pointed out into slightly deeper water, where he could just see a large shell sitting on top of the sand, visible beneath the surf because it was glowing surprisingly bright. Despite the shiny object in front of him, Gray's gaze was diverted to the more shadowy water, where he saw two oblong-shaped fish watching them intently. Gray frowned; since when did fish watch people? And did they usually have one eye glowing bright gold? And why did these fish with glowing eyes seem to be _smirking_ at him?

"Juvia," he began, "do you see- wait, Juvia!"

But Juvia had already let go of him and was wading into the deeper water toward the shell – and the fish. The disappeared with a flick of their long tails as Juvia approached, but Gray had a bad feeling that they were biding their time. There was no way they were normal fish. Juvia was in the water up to her knees, the skirt of her dress flowing on top of the foamy water, before she bent down and retrieved the shell.

"Hey," Juvia said in surprise. "There's already a string attached to this one! Someone must have lost it."

"Juvia, get back here!" Gray exclaimed, pushing his way through the water to reach her. "There's some suspicious fish near you!"

"Huh?" Juvia looked around her feet in alarm. "Juvia doesn't see anything… but look, Gray-sama!" she said, holding up the shell. "Juvia doesn't think we'll be able to find the owner and return it, so do you think we could add our shells to it and give is Asuka? Or would that still be stealing?"

"Juvia, can we discuss this on the shore, please? I've got a bad feeling."

He grabbed Juvia's wrist and started pulling her toward the beach, but she jerked her hand out of his grip. Gray whirled around in surprise; Juvia never pulled away from him. She wasn't even paying attention to him now. She was staring intently at the shell, seemingly entranced by how the colors shimmered across its surface. Gray supposed she thought it was beautiful, but he was starting to think more sinister.

"Juvia!" Gray repeated loudly. She completely ignored him. Gray's bad feeling intensified.

"You know," she said thoughtfully, cocking her head to the side as she head the shell up in front of her, letting it swing back and forth on its black chord, "Juvia thinks this might be too big for Asuka after all. But it would be such a shame to let it go to waste… maybe I'll keep it…"

"Juvia, don't put that on!" Gray cried, lunging to grab her wrist, bust she stepped nimbly out of reach without looking at him. "I'm serious, Juvia, it looks weird!"

He made a grab for it again, but Juvia jumped back out of reach. "Stay away from me, Gray!" she snarled in a most un-Juvia like fashion, and Gray froze. She had referred to herself in first person. She had dropped the honorific from Gray's name. She was now glaring at Gray, her teeth bared and showing, a glint of wicked gold still in her eyes even though she was no longer looking at the shell. She was now in the water up to her hips, and Gray saw something big and dark dart around her skirt.

"Juvi-" Gray started to shout, lunging for her again, but he cut off with a cry as something smacked hard against the back of his knees and he fell face-first into the water. By the time he had raised his head, sputtering and shaking his wet bangs out of his eyes, and looked up, Juvia had tied the shell around her neck and was gazing at it in greedy satisfaction.

All at once, her smile vanished. She frowned and shook her head, dropping the shell to put her hand to her temple. "What… what just…"

Gray stared in horror. The water around Juvia had started to foam and boil, her entire lower body disappearing in the frothing water. "Ah," Juvia moaned suddenly. _"Aaaahh!"_

"What's wrong?" Gray demanded. The water was still swirling around her, ripping and tearing at her dress like some many-toothed monster. "What's happening?"

"My legs!" Juvia cried, her voice shrill with terror and tears starting to form in her eyes. "Gray-sama, my legs-"

Something under the water yanked Juvia off her feet and dragged her beneath the surface before Gray could even blink. Thinking fast, Gray grabbed her wrists just before they disappeared beneath the water, and with a jerk that nearly pulled his arms out of their sockets, he was pulled under with her. The salt water stung his eyes as he opened them under water. He could see Juvia's face, terror in her eyes, her hair swirling around her feet and the water twill churning around her legs. Gray couldn't see what was happening to them. Looking past her, Gray saw two eels had wrapped their tails around her waist and were pulling them into deeper water, with surprising speed. They were already several feet under, and Gray could feel his ears starting to pop. The eels were at least five feet long each, with slimy skin of a vile green color and translucent fins rippling unpleasantly down their spines and bellies. As Gray stared at them, they turned their multicolored eyes on him and opened the jaws, revealing few little sharp teeth, and laughed. They were actually laughing at him!

"_Beluga sevruga, come winds of the Caspian Sea!"_ a haunting voice echoed around them through the water, a woman's voice singing with a dark, vengeful power lining every note. _"Larengix glaucitis, et max laryngitis, la puella to me!"_

"Gray-sama!" Juvia sobbed, her voice coming out as a gurgle in the water, but it was clear what she had said. Gray's lungs were burning. He had to stop the eels. He could use his ice, but he couldn't let go of Juvia, not even for a second, just in case the eels slipped away with her while he was performing a spell. He had never tried to use his magic with one hand – Ur had always warned strongly against it, and he himself had seen how unstable it could be when Lyon tried to use it one-handed – but he knew he had no choice. Tightening his grip on her left wrist, he released her right one and pulled his hand back. The water in his palm turned icy and foggy. The already frigid temperature around them dropped several degrees.

"_Ice Make: Freeze!"_ Gray cried with his remaining breath, the words turning into a garble of bubbles as they left his mouth, but they did the trick. The water in front of the eels froze solid, and they, being too busy mocking him to pay attention, slammed head-first into the little wall of ice with loud, screeching cries. The impact cause them to release Juvia, and she and Gray were thrown over the ice wall with such force, Gray nearly lost his grip on her. Gray had no air in his lungs. He instinctively tried to breathe and choked on a lungful of salt water. His vision was full of black spots. His throat and chest were burning. His body felt unnaturally heavy, as if his muscles had filled with lead. He couldn't move them. Something wrapped around his back and pressed against his chest, and the water rushed around him, pulling his hair and clothes. Something slick and scaly was rubbing his legs, but he couldn't kick it away. He couldn't move; couldn't think; couldn't see; couldn't breathe-

Suddenly, he was breathing. Breathing and choking, his head bobbing over the surface of the water. The waves were stronger out here, and as Gray felt himself being lifted up and then falling back down on the surf, he thought he understood why Natsu always got so motion sick. Something was still pressed against him, holding him, rubbing his back soothingly as he coughed and wretched, and Gray saw a lock of shimmering blue hair out of the corner of his eyes…

"Juvia," he croaked, but even saying that much sent him back into a fit of coughs. She was hugging him, holding him up, his head over her shoulder and his arms wrapped around her. As his coughs subsided, she pulled back and looked at him, her hands still holding his arms as tears mixed with the water dripping off her face.

"Juvia's h-here, G-Gray-sama," Juvia choked, trying to smile. "W-We're alright… Gray-sama, gomen'nasai…"

"Juvia," Gray repeated, his voice rough as sandpaper. "What… what's hitting my legs?""

Juvia swallowed hard. "That's… Juvia's… oh, Gray-sama…"

Juvia looked down, and Gray, despite the alarm bells going off in his head, followed her gaze. The water around her had cleared though it had torn her dress so badly it was now more of a short shirt. Gray could see the smooth, creamy skill of her stomach, but from the hips down, she had changed. Her legs were gone, and replacing it was a five-foot long, blue, scaly tail, at the end of which was a pair of wide, filmy fins. Gray's eyes popped and his jaw fell open.

"It's the shell," Juvia sobbed, yanking at the chord that was still, miraculously, around her neck. "You were right, Gray-sama, it was bewitched… but Juvia _can't get it off!_"

Gray tore his eyes away from Juvia's tail to watch her desperate attempts to take off the necklace. No matter how she pulled, yanked, or tugged, it would not break, nor would it go over her head. Gray swallowed and gently look the shell out of her hands. Juvia's breath hitched in her throat as she watched him try and pull the string apart without tugging on her neck. When the chord refused to yield, Gray looked up at met Juvia's eyes, focusing on them.

"You're going to be okay, Juvia," he promised, forcing his voice to be steady and confident as he put his hands on her shoulders. "You're going to be fine. We're going to get you back to the guild, and we're going to get this figured out. I promise."

"Well, isn't this touching."

Something cold and slimy wrapped around Gray's torso and yanked him backward, pulling his away from Juvia as, at the same time, something pulled her away from him. He tried to keep a hold of her arms, but they slipped right through his grip, his hands sliding all the way down her arms to her fingers, which clutched at him desperately before they were yanked apart.

"_Juvia!"_

"_Gray!"_

A woman's laughter echoed through the water as they were, once again, pulled beneath the water, and as they did, Gray spotted its source.

The woman was a monster. That was the only way Gray could describe her. She was rather porky, with short white hair, a round face painted with too much make-up, and skin a cold, grayish-purple color. Her head and arms were human, but from the chest down she was an octopus. An octopus black as night with eight long, writhing tentacles, two of which were wrapped around Juvia's struggling mermaid body, the purple suckers sticking unpleasantly to her skin and scales.

"_Gray!"_ Juvia shrieked over the woman's cackles. Gray raised his hands to perform another spell, but before he could utter a single world, something collided with his left bicep and sunk its teeth into his muscle. He released all the air in his lungs with a scream of pain that was lost in the swirling water, and like a distant roll of thunder he heard Juvia scream his name once more…

"Flotsam, Jetsam," the octo-woman purred, "that's enough now. We don't need our little hero incapacitated. He was a quest to complete, after all."

The two eels, one with his jaws clamped on Gray's arm and the other with his tail wrapped around his middle, released their holds and swum back to the woman's side. Blood seeped from the bit wounds in Gray's arm, coloring the water around his a dark, rusty maroon, and Gray clamped his free hand over it. He couldn't perform any spells with his dominant hand incapacitated. He could feel his energy draining, and he had to fight just to remain conscious. The monster looked upon without pity, sneering at him and laughing in a way that made her fleshy body jiggle unpleasantly.

"I'll be taking my little mermaid," the monster informed him, tracing one plump, clawed finger along with side of Juvia's face. "Come and find her if you can, Gray Fullbuster. I, Ursula the Sea Witch, will be waiting. So long, Lover Boy!"

Juvia's eyes were wide and frantic as she struggled against the tentacles binding her, trying desperately to swim to Gray, who's eyes were starting to roll back into his skull. Ursula swept one pudgy arm in front of her, and the water around her, her eel pets, and her mermaid captive began to froth and swirl, giving off an eerie green light as it did so. Gray caught one last glimpse of Juvia's petrified face before she vanished behind the glowing typhoon.

_No!_ Gray's mind screamed, momentarily forgetting that he was injured an unable to breathe as his thoughts became suddenly clear. _NO! I am NOT losing anyone else! _Ignoring his protesting arm, Gray raised his hands, preparing to freeze the water around him and maybe even the entire ocean in order to break Juvia out of there and maybe turn the Sea Witch into an icy shish-kabob on the side, but before he could do anything, a wall of water slammed into him, throwing him, spinning him, taking him Mavis knew where. He didn't know which way was up, down, left right, sideways, frontways, backways, all he knew was water, freezing water, burning water, salty water, he couldn't see, couldn't breathe, everything was going back, he was sinking, drowning, and Juvia's screams echoing in his ears would be the last thing he would ever hear…

* * *

_"Gray? Wake up! Come on, snap out of it, already!"_

Something was smacking the side of his face. Gray coughed once, then quickly turned on his side and vomited, choking and retching on the liquid coming out of his lungs as he tried to gulp down some air at the same time. He was lying on something simultaneously soft and rocky that could have only been sand. Every inch of his body felt as though it had been beaten with a sledge hammer. The bite in his arm was throbbing and his head was still rolling in tempo with the ocean, which he could hear not so far away from where he lay. He turned back onto his back and groaned. His lungs ached. He creaked his swollen eyes open, and through his salt-crusted vision he saw a familiar, sharp face and a shock of white hair hovering above him, outlined by a moonlit sky.

"Gray!" the voice from before cried, and Gray felt an arm push its way underneath his shoulders and try to sit him up. The movement made black stars flash in his vision again, and he groaned a little louder. "Thank goodness, I thought I was going to have to do mouth-to-mouth. What the heck happened to you?!"

Gray was going to black out again. But he had to tell him. He had to know. Someone had to know… had to warn… had to save…

"Juvia," Gray croaked. "Juvia…"

That was all he could manage before his head rolled back and he lost consciousness once again.

* * *

_You poor, unfortunate soul!  
__It's sad, but true.  
__If you want to cross the bridge, my sweet,  
__You've got the pay the toll.  
__Take a gulp and take a breath  
__And go ahead and sign the scroll!  
__Flotsam, Jetsam, now I've got her, boys,  
__The boss is on a roll!  
__With this poor unfortunate soul!_

~"Poor Unfortunate Souls" by Pat Carroll from _The Little Mermaid_

* * *

**A/N:** Ooh, I feel mean. Especially after reading the newest manga chapter last Friday, I'm feel like I'm being really mean to our poor Gray-sama. Why is it so easy for us writers to brutalize this kid? Geez, I caught myself by surprise...

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed these two chapters! For those of you who might not know, _Beluga sevruga, come winds of the Caspian Sea! __Larengix glaucitis, et max laryngitis, la puella to me!_ is the spell Ursula chants in the movie when she's taking Ariel's voice, but I changed _la voce_ to _la puella_, which is Latin for 'girl'. I wanted to change the part about laryngitis too, but I don't know enough Latin or whatever to make any sort of rhyme, so I decided to just leave that be. I was very excited to write this part, with The Little Mermaid being in my top 5 favorite childhood Disney movies of all time and all that. I actually discovered that The Little Mermaid comes from a real fairy tail that was written in the mid 1800's! Is that stupid of me to not have known that before? Oh well, I know now.

Please, please, please review, please! I would love to hear what you guys think of this :)


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Hello! Back again! A big thanks to **RoseGuardian23** and our very own **Erza Scarlet Fairy Tail** for reviewing the last chapter! In response to your review, **Erza**, I will just say that I have some special plans for you ;) *evil cackle worthy of Maleficent that I only wish I could make in real life*

This story is getting intense! I've got several more chapters after this one written down already. I just need to get them typed up. I am having way too much fun with this :D Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter! PLEASE REIVEW!

* * *

**Chapter Six: A New Enemy Arises**

"I wonder where Gray and Juvia have got to?"

Mira turned and looked around the guild. It was just as crowded as usual – or at least what had once again become usual since Fairy Tail's victory in the Grand Magic Games – but there was no sign of Juvia's periwinkle hair or Gray's pectorals anywhere. Mira turned to Lucy, who had initially observed their absence, and replied, "Didn't they partner up for a job?"

"Hai. _Yesterday,_" Lucy emphasized. "And from what Lisanna told me, it sounded like it was supposed to be a quick job. They should be back by now."

"They were goin' to beat up some monster, right?" asked Natsu through a mouthful of bacon, who was sitting at the bar next to Lucy with a breakfast plate piled high with food in front of him. Happy, who was sitting on the bar next to Natsu, probably would have said something along the lines of "They _liiiiiiike_ each other!" if his face hadn't been stuffed with fish, so Mira took it upon herself to do his job.

"Hey," she whispered excitedly, leaning on the bar to whisper into Lucy's ear (which was pointless, since Natsu could hear a fly buzzing from across the guild hall), "you don't think Juvia's finally made some headway with him, do you?"

"That's what Lisanna and I thought," Lucy sighed. "But then Erza told me he's already full-on rejected her. Honestly, he's just as emotionally _dense_ as Juvia's emotionally _wrecked_."

"Hontouni?" Mira exclaimed before sighing as well. "Still, I think they've been getting a bit closer, haven't they? And it does _seem_ like they spent the night together."

"I really can't see Gray going for that," Lucy said flatly. "Even if it was with someone other than Juvia. I wonder if something happened…"

All of a sudden, Natsu dropped his food and leapt to his feet, the sound of his stool scraping against the wooden floor making Mira and Lucy cringe. "I don't think you'll have to worry anymore, Luce," he said with a devilish grin. "I can already smell that popsicle's stink headin' for the guild!"

"Natsu, don't start something!" Lucy cried angrily, but Natsu was already marching to the front of the guild, his clenched fists and cheeky expression promising destruction and mischief.

"_GRAY!_ You pervy little ice princess, get your butt in here so I can-!"

The guild doors opened, and Natsu froze mid-threat. Lyon Vastia had just entered the hall, his expression grim and Gray's limp form draped over his back like a broken doll.

"_Lyon!"_ Lucy gasped, appearing next to the still-shocked Natsu as the entire guild went quiet, everyone looking toward the two ice mages. "What on Earth-"

"I found him lying on a beach in Hargeon," said Lyon without prequel, "unconscious and looking like a drowned rat. I have no idea how he got there."

Wendy and Erza, who were sitting at a nearby table with Carla and the Connells, jumped up. "Follow me, Lyon-san," Wendy said. "We'll take him to the guild infirmary so I can heal him."

Lyon hoisted Gray up a little higher on his back, readjusting his grip on his former fellow student's arms, and followed the little Dragon Slayer around to the back of the guild. As she lead him through a door just across the right side of the stage, Lucy and Natsu exchanged a look with Erza and ran after them, Happy and Carla following overhead.

Lyon and Wendy had already laid Gray on one of the six hospital beds in the guild infirmary. Their teammate looked even worse with the sunlight shining through the window onto his still form. His hair was rumpled and tangled – more so than usual - and his clothes were torn and crusted with sea salt. His left sleeve was full of holes and had an ugly brown stain around the shoulder that looked an awful lot like blood. Wendy was unbuttoning his shirt in order to get a better look at his injuries, and Lyon was standing next to her, his arms folded and a deep frown on his face.

"Did he ever wake up?" Erza asked Lyon as the rest of Team Natsu approached the bed. "Did he say anything?"

"He came to once," Lyon replied, watching Wendy hold her glowing blue hands over Gray's injured arm and begin to heal what looked like a bite wound on his bicep. "Right when I first found him. But he only managed to get one word out before he lost consciousness again. He hasn't woken up since."

"What was the one word?" Lucy pressed. To her surprise, Lyon made a rather sour face, like he had just tasted something bad.

"Juvia," he replied briskly. "He said Juvia's name. Twice. I think he wants to see her. Is she here? I didn't see her in the guild hall."

Lucy, Natsu, and Erza all exchanged shocked, worried looks. Lyon noticed this and felt a sudden chill that had nothing to do with his ice magic. "Did something happen?" he asked rather sharply. "Where is Juvia?"

"Lyon," Erza said in a low voice, "Juvia was supposed to be with Gray. They partnered up for a job yesterday. She should have been with him.

Lyon's face lost the little color it had, so his skin blended almost perfectly with his hair. "Demo… I didn't see her anywhere," he said in a shaking voice. "She wasn't there. She wouldn't have just _left_ him."

"Our thoughts exactly," said Lucy fretfully, glancing back at Natsu and Erza. "You guys don't think…"

"Evergreen?" Erza whispered, horror dawning in her tone. Natsu looked from one girl to the next, confusion evident in his face, but then he understood.

"WHOA! You guys don't mean- the same thing that happened to Evergreen happened to Juvia?!"

"It's possible," said Erza, bowing her head and closing her eyes. Wendy was too focused on healing Gray's wounds to respond, but her frightened expression spoke a million words.

"Evergreen?" Lyon repeated, recalling the busty, catty fairy mage to whom he had never been fully introduced. "What happened to her?"

"She was kidnapped two nights ago," Lucy replied sadly. "Elfman and the Raijinshuu have looked everywhere, but her kidnappers escaped using some kind of portal."

Wendy, having fully healed the bite wound in Gray's arm, moved on to his shoulders and chest, where he was sporting several bruises and some rather strange scars that stretched beneath the skin. "We don't know that's what happened to Juvia," she said, her voice hopeful yet anxious. "They might have just gotten separated somehow. We won't know for sure until Gray wakes up."

"How long will that be?" asked Carla, who was standing on the foot of Gray's bed with Happy.

"He should wake up in a few minutes," Wendy replied, gazing sadly at Gray's sleeping form. Walking around Natsu and Erza, Lucy grabbed a washcloth, soaked it with some water from a nearby basin, and sat at the edge of Gray's bed, gently washing off the salt, sand, and dried blood that clung to the ice mage's skin. Having finished with Gray's chest, Wendy had moved to his face, her magic returning the color to his cheeks, her fingers hovering over his closed eyes, which looked rather swollen. Lyon grabbed a chair and sat down in it, glaring at Gray's face as though doing so would force him to wake up. Natsu, Erza, and the Exceeds looked on with worried expressions, each just as worried about their injured companion as they were about their missing one.

Wendy and Lucy had just finished tending to Gray when the infirmary doors opened, and the group turned as Master Makarov, Elfman, and Mirajane entered the guild, their expressions grim. "Mirajane told me of Gray's return," Makarov explained as the new group moved into the room to stand around the foot of Gray's bed. "What is his condition?"

"His most serious wound was a deep bite wound to his arm," said Wendy in a surprisingly professional tone. "He had some bruises around his chest, and his lungs and throat showed some damage that suggested near drowning. His eyes were damaged from saltwater exposure as well, and he's got a fever. I was able to heal him, but he will still be a bit weak and sore when he wakes up, and the fever will take a few hours to recede."

"Well done, Wendy," Makarov said gently, smiling at the young girl before turning to Lyon. "Arigatougozaimas, Lyon, for returning one of my sons to me. If you hadn't found him when you did… I hate to think of what could have happened."

"I'm glad I could help," replied Lyon with a formal nod. "Is Juvia still nowhere to be found? These guys just told me about the recent kidnapping."

Several pairs of eyes flickered to Elfman, who was staring determinedly out the window. Makarov bowed his head. "I was just about to ask _you _about her, Lyon. It's true that one of our own was taken from us two nights ago, and the appearance of Gray in such a state, and without Juvia, is extremely worrisome."

A low moan whispered through the room, and everyone turned at once to look at the bed. Gray was stirring, his eyes tightening and his teeth grit in a wince as his sore muscles twitched. "Gray?" Lucy, who was still sitting on the side of his bed, called quietly. "Gray, are you waking up?"

Gray groaned again. He tried to open his eyes, but they felt like a bunch of bees had stung him, itching and raw. He was aware of a bright light and a voice calling his name. Was he dead? No, he couldn't be dead. Death, or at least the aftermath, couldn't hurt this much, could it? Or maybe he was in Hell. He felt like he might be. A cool hand touched his forehead, which he realized was burning hot, and though distant alarm bells rang in his head, Gray titled his head into the, not caring at all who it was, just thankful for the coolness, and for the comfort of someone being there. Curiosity eventually won over, and he finally peeled back his eyelids to see who was with him.

"Hey, sleeping beauty," Natsu said pleasantly. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

Gray looked around. Lucy was the one touching him, a relieved, yet rather sad smile on her face as she gazed down at him. Erza and Wendy were standing next to Natsu, both looking extremely worried. Happy and Carla stood on the mattress at his feet – when did he get in a bed? – and at the foot of the bed stood Elfman, Mira, and Makarov.

"Minna," Gray croaked, wincing slightly. His throat felt so sore and raw he wondered if it could be bleeding on the inside. "Wha…"

"It's okay, Gray," Lucy crooned gently, smoothing back his hair. "You're in the guild infirmary. Lyon brought you here."

"Lyon…" Gray turned his head and found his old friend sitting in a chair on the other side of the bed. His eyes widened in surprise. "You did?"

"You're welcome," Lyon said rather dryly. "Now, where's Juvia,"

"Nani?"

"Lyon," Mira snapped angrily. "Give him a chance to wake up a little bit before you start hurdling questions at him."

Erza leaned down so her face was next to Lucy's, her curtains of red hair framing the serious face Gray knew so well. "Gray," she said in a voice that was gentle, yet still commanded attention, "Lyon told us he found you unconscious on a beach in Hargeon. Do you remember how you ended up there?"

"No… demo… Juvia…"

Lucy and Erza leaned back with small gasps. The expression that had just entered Gray's eyes was shattering. The ice mage turned his gaze to Elfman, who immediately understood.

"She was taken, too" he declared. "Was it the Wicked Stepmother?"

"Iie… it was someone different… she t-turned Juvia into…"

"What?" Lyon snapped, grabbing the cross necklace that was still around Gray's neck and yanking him up. "What happened to Juvia, Gray?!"

In the next second, Lyon let go of Gray and quickly backed away, a sword pointed threateningly at his throat. Lucy shrieked and jumped up, barely saving her own neck from the sharp blade as Erza glared at Lyon with murderous eyes. "I understand why you would be concerned, Vastia," she growled. "But I will _not_ allow you to manhandle my injured comrade, no matter what your feelings are. _Wakarimasu ka?_"

Lyon and Erza glared daggers at one another for several seconds before Lyon sat back with a huff and Erza sheathed her sword. Gray was now sitting propped up on his elbows, but his head was bowed, his bangs hiding his eyes. Wendy rested a comforting hand on Gray's forearm.

"Gray-san," she said quietly, "I know it must be hard, but can you please tell us what happened? Maybe we can find a way to help."

Gray took a long, slow breathe, keeping his eyes cast downward, before speaking again. "After we finished our job, Juvia wanted to look for sea shells to make into a necklace for Asuka. So we were walking on a beach in the town we were in and she found this shell that I thought looked suspicious. I tried to stop her, but the shell… it must have bewitched her somehow. She picked it up, and it was already on a string, so she put it around her neck… and she…" Gray took another deep breath. "She turned into a mermaid."

"_Nanidato?!" _

"The water started swirling around her," Gray explained, his voice starting to shake as he did, "and when it cleared, she had a big long tail, scaly and blue like a mermaid's. There were these… these eels… they weren't regular eels, they had these weird glowing eyes and they could _talk_… they drug us out to sea, and I used my ice magic to stop them. We tried to get away, but… then _she_ came…"

"Who?" asked Makarov in a hushed voice.

Gray raised his head and looked his master in the eye. "The Sea Witch," he said in a low growl. "Ursula is what she called herself. She's a monster with the upper body of a woman and the tentacles of an octopus. She grabbed Juvia, and I tried to save her, but those eels – they must have been her pets or something – held me back… one of them bit my arm," Gray absentmindedly rubbed his left bicep where the tooth marks had been, "and then Ursula did some kind of spell, and the water swirled around her and glowed bright green… and then they were gone."

"How'd you end up unconscious in Hargeon?" asked Lucy.

Gray furrowed his eyebrows. "I don't really remember that part… I just remember a lot of swirling water, I couldn't breathe or see anything… and then I must have blacked out, because the next thing I remember is waking up in here."

"Did Ursula ever say anything to you, Gray?" Makarov asked, and the ice mage nodded.

"When Juvia was transforming, I heard her voice saying some sort of incantation, but I can't remember what the words were, it sounded like a load of gibberish… and right before she summoned the typhoon, she told me, 'I'm taking this little mermaid. If you want her back, come find me.' She told me who she was, and she called me by name, even though I know I've never met her before."

"That sounds almost exactly like what happened when Evergreen was taken," gasped Mira. "Except the Stepmother told Laxus to send the message to Elfman."

"Do you think the Stepmother and this Sea Witch are in league with one another?" asked Lucy fearfully.

"It sounds like it," Erza murmured.

"But _why?_" Wendy asked the scarlet woman imploringly. "_Why_ are they doing this?"

"I wish I knew."

Natsu turned to Master Makarov. "Jii-chan, what does this mean? Is the guild under attack?"

"It's starting to appear that way," replied Makarov darkly. "It could be a coincidence that their two victims are girls from Fairy Tail, but there are few things I hate more in this world than a coincidence."

Lyon got to his feet. "If there are some crazy women out there kidnapping people," he said, "then I had better go inform my guild. I'll see if I can arrange a search party to help you look for Juvia and Evergreen."

"That would be much appreciated," Makarov said gratefully. "In the meantime, we will announce to the rest of the guild what has happened and put them on their guard. Whether we are the specific targets or not, I will not be having more of my children disappearing!"

* * *

_My whole world is changing,  
__I don't know where to turn.  
__I can't leave you waiting,  
__But I can't stay and watch the city burn;  
__Watch it burn._

_'Cause I try,  
__But it's so hard to believe.  
__I try,  
__But I can't see where you see.  
__I try.  
__I try._

~"I'll Try" by Jonatha Brooke from_ Peter Pan: Return to Neverland_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Geez... so much for my streak...

It's been a month since I last updated this story. *claps hands together and bows* Gomen'nasai!

I'll blame my busy work schedule for taking so long. I'm saving money to go on an 18 month mission for my church and it's not cheap, so I've been working 4 different jobs in order to save the money. This week is extremely cramped, so I made sure to find some time today to get this chapter up. I don't know when the next update will be, but I'll do my best to make sure it's not another month long wait!

So without any furthur adieu, here's chapter seven!

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Titania's Summons**

"Momma, what's wrong with daddy?"

Bisca sighed as she smoothed the bed covers over her daughter's small body. "He's just worried, sweetheart."

"Because of what happened to Evergreen and Juvia?" When Bisca didn't reply, Asuka leaned forward on her bed, her eyes wide and frightened. "You don't think the bad guys will come after us, do you?"

"Oh, I don't think so," Bisca replied, pulling Asuka close and smoothing her black hair, wavy from the braid it was in all day, with her hand. The firearm mage really didn't think their family was in danger, though she did worry for her friends in the guild. Evergreen and Juvia's kidnappers, they were guessing, were probably part of some organization targeting the girls in Fairy Tail. Unfortunately, there weren't any leads to go on other than the witnesses of Gray and the Raijinshuu, so no one had a clue who was behind the kidnappings, nor did anyone know why, how, and where the girls were being taken.

"What about the other girls in Fairy Tail?" Asuka asked, clearly too smart for her own five-year-old good. "Will any of them get kidnapped, too?"

"That's what Daddy and the other guys are trying to prevent," Bisca assured her. The way the men of Fairy Tail were coming together for this cause was reminiscent of the time the Raijinshuu had turned Lucy, Bisca, Juvia, Erza, Cana, Levy, and Mirajane into stone; the difference was that this time, the men weren't being forced to fight against each other. An escort had been formed for the girls of Fairy Hills to take them to their dorms. The remainder of the Raijinshuu had taken responsibility over Mirajane and Lisanna. Team Shadowgear with the assistance of Gajeel and Pantherlily had become Levy's personal bodyguards. Natsu was keeping a more watchful eye when he was around Lucy, which surprised everyone since he usually never gave a thought for caution. All the girls had at least one guy stuck to them like glue, much to some of their discretion, though no one complained about the extra protection. Evergreen and Juvia weren't at all weak mages, and their easy capture had many people rattled; especially when strong wizards such as the Raijinshuu and Gray had been present.

Bisca sighed and pulled away from her daughter. "Everything will be alright, Asuka," she said with a smile. "You'll see. The bad guys always get caught in the end."

"Just like in the fairy tales?" Asuka asked. Bisca chuckled.

"Just like in the fairy tales. Speaking of which, how about I read you tonight, since Daddy is busy?"

Asuka immediately brightened up. "Yay!" she cried, throwing her hands in the air as Bisca leaned forward and took the book off Asuka's nightstand. Finding the bookmark Alzack had stuck between the pages, Bisca opened the book to chapter three.

"Alright, sweetie, are you all tucked in?" When Asuka nodded, Bisca continued, "Okay… oh, Mulan! I loved this story when I was a kid, not only because Mulan is my maiden name, but this time the girl gets to be the hero!"

Asuka's eyes widened. "You mean the _princess _saves the _prince?_"

Bisca laughed. "Not quite, hon. Just listen and you'll find out…"

* * *

Erza was in a bad mood.

She knew the guys in the guild were only trying to be supportive in this time of crisis, but their constant presence was really getting on her nerves. Currently, she and the other occupants of Fairy Hills were being escorted to their dorms by Macao, Romeo, Gajeel, and Pantherlily. All the men in the Fairy Tail guild seemed to have latched themselves onto one or more of the girls since the news of Juvia's disappearance that morning. It wasn't that she didn't understand everyone's concern – heck, she was just as scared for her friends as everyone else was – but she wished the guys wouldn't act as though the girls couldn't take care of themselves.

"I hear ya, Erza," Cana said when Erza quietly relayed these thoughts to the alcoholic mage. "It's not like having other people around stopped Juvia and Evergreen from being kidnapped."

"The Raijinshuu and Gray are some of our strongest members," said Romeo as he, Wendy, and Carla hung back to join the conversation. The youngest mage in Fairy Tail had insisted on tagging along with his dad despite his rather novice knowledge of magic, and the older girls had a sneaking suspicion that is was for Wendy's sake he wanted to come. "Even so," the young fire wizard continued, "that didn't stop these attackers from taking Evergreen and Juvia."

"Don't remind them of that, though," Cana warned. "They're sore enough about it already."

"But Romeo-san is right," piped up Wendy nervously. "Even if those guys hadn't been present, Evergreen and Juvia aren't helpless. The fact that they were kidnapped so easily scares me."

"That's not the only thing scary," said Levy grimly. She was at the back of the group with Gajeel, holding Pantherlily tightly in her arms. "The parallels between the two kidnappings are too obvious to be a coincidence."

"You mean how both the kidnappers took on the persona of fairy tale villians?" asked Pantherlily.

"That as well as how both kidnappings were staged so there were witnesses, they both happened on two consecutive nights, and each kidnapper called for a male member of the guild to come rescue their captive."

"It's like they're playing with us," said Laki, who was walking just ahead of Erza and just behind Macao. "Like they're looking for a fight."

"They keep attacking our guild like this," said Gajeel threatening, cracking his knuckles against his palm, "and they're definitely gonna get a fight."

Erza looked back and frowned curiously at Gajeel. She had been rather surprised when the Iron Dragon Slayer volunteered for escort duty; he normally kept himself detached from guild conflicts unless he saw an opportunity to beat up someone. He wasn't at all the protective type. But as she watched him, she noticed his quick glances at Levy in between his careful scans of the surrounding area. _That's right_, she realized. _He's not the protective type except for when it comes to Levy. _Maybe his voluntary involvement wasn't so shocking after all.

Erza grunted as she walked right into Laki, who had abruptly stopped in front of her. Looking up, she saw Macao had thrown his arm out to stop the group and was staring intently at the side of the road. Catching his mood, Erza quickly summoned her sword.

"What is it?" asked Cana as she drew a couple of her cards. "What's wrong, Macao?"

"I thought I heard something suspicious," the former fourth master replied in a low voice. "Gajeel, can you pick anything up?"

Everyone glanced back at Gajeel. He was standing protectively next to Levy, one hand on her shoulder holding her close to him. His crimson eyes carefully scanned the surrounding trees, his enhanced vision probing the deepest shadows as his ears twitched and his nostrils flared. "There's definitely someone out there," he growled. "But… hold on…"

The bush directly to Erza's right suddenly shook violently. Erza whirled around, Cana and Wendy flanking her as sh raised her sword, but Gajeel shouted, "Matte! It's not an enemy!"

"Nani?!" Since when did Black Steel Gajeel tell someone not to attack?

Before Erza could respond, the bushes parted. A hooded figure stumbled out of them, falling to her knees at the requip mage's feet as her hood fell back, revealing…

"_Meredy?!"_ Erza gasped.

Meredy raised her head. Her long pink hair had fallen out of its ponytail and now hung in knotted curtains around her scratched and dirty face. Her jade green eyes were full of exhaustion and tears as she stared pleadingly up at Erza.

"Erza-san… t-thank goodness I found you…"

"Meredy," said Levy in recognition. "Wait, isn't she in Crime Sorcière?"

Erza released her sword and dropped to her knees in front of the injured mage. "What's wrong, Meredy?" Erza asked, holding the younger girl by her shoulders. "What happened? Where's-"

Erza paused she felt a little guilty for her first thought at Meredy's appearance was Jellal, but his absence was strange. With Ultear gone, he was the only one whom Meredy could trust. He was her guardian, and Jellal was not the kind of man who would leave his charge. Not anymore.

"I… had t-to find you," Meredy gasped, clutching Erza's arms for support as she bowed her head in grief. "J-Jellal…"

Erza's heart froze as ice flooded her veins. "What happened to him?" she demanded. "Did someone catch him? The Magic Council?"

"N-not the magic council," Meredy shook her head, tears falling from her lashes. "But someone… someone called Shan Yu…"

"Shan Yu?" repeated Laki.

"I've never heard of him," murmured Macao.

"But what happened, Meredy?" Erza pressed. "What did this Shan Yu do?"

"He… we… we didn't even see it coming!" Meredy sobbed, falling against Erza's shoulder. "We t-tried to f-fight… to esc-cape… b-but there were s-so many… we couldn't… and they…"

Erza was becoming more and more panicked by the minute, but she knew she couldn't allow Meredy to see that in her state. Swallowing hard, the requip mage hugged Meredy close to her, an armored hand patting her hair comfortingly. "It's alright, Meredy," she said in the most calm and soothing voice she could. "You're safe now, no one is going to hurt you. Just tell us what happened."

Meredy gulped down several deep breaths, her hands clenched over Erza's armor as she tried to choke back her sobs. Once she had calmed her breathing rate, she began her story in a quaking voice. "Jellal and I were just walking through the forest, looking for a place to make camp. We'd been having a lot of trouble with our work since we l-lost Ul…" Meredy swallowed hard again and forced herself to continue. "We were gonna try and take down another dark guild tomorrow, but before we h-had the chance, this hawk swooped in and dove at us. We ducked to avoid it, and then…"

Meredy pressed her forehead to Erza's shoulder. "We were surrounded," she gasped. "At least two dozen men in strange black armor attacked us. None of them were magic users, but a few of them managed to pin me down, and… I c-couldn't do anything, c-couldn't use my m-magic… they threatened to k-kill me if Jellal fought back…"

Erza's eyes widened. "You mean they held you hostage?"

"H-hai… so Jellal stopped fighting to try and s-save me, but s-six of them overpowered him, tied him up, forced a bag over his h-head…"

Meredy was quaking so hard already, she didn't feel Erza start to shake. The requip mage knew what Meredy was describing was no attack from the Magic Council or any bounty hunting guild she knew about. As a former member of Grimoire Heart, Meredy was wanted almost as much as Jellal was, and if either of those two organizations had been behind the attack, they wouldn't have used Meredy to make Jellal surrender. Not even the Magic Council would submit to such a low form of blackmail. But if those black-armored men were powerful enough to stop Meredy's sensory magic and submit Jellal…

"T-then _he_ came," Meredy said, her voice husky with fear. "Their leader, Shan Yu. He was huge, at least a foot taller than Jellal, dressed all and furs and with that hawk perched on his shoulder. He g-grabbed Jellal and held a sword to his throat. He told me h-he would c-cut it off if I f-fought back…"

Wait, they used _Jellal_ to threaten _Meredy_? But _why?_ Why bother capturing Jellal if they were just going to threaten his life again?

"The soldiers r-released me… I didn't dare use any magic in case Jellal g-got hurt… then one of them slashed the air with his sword… and this b-big, swirling hole of light opened up…"

Levy gasped. Wendy had her hands over her mouth. Erza pushed Meredy back and stared at her in horror as a stone dropped through her stomach. _No… no, it couldn't be…_

"They did _what?_"

"T-they opened a portal of some sort, I think," Meredy whimpered, frightened by the look on Erza's face. "And all the soldiers went through, disappeared into the light… and then…"

"Shan Yu went through with Jellal, didn't he," said Erza, her hands tightening around Meredy's shoulders. She could see it now: a big, hulking soldier with a hawk perched on his shoulder standing in front of the portal, a sneer on his lips, a sword pointed at his captive's throat and no mercy in his eyes. "Did he say anything to you before he went?"

"Y-yes… he said, 'Jellal Fernandez is now a p-prisoner of war. If you want him back, tell Erza Sc-Scarlet that Shan Yu, Chieftain of the Hun clan, will be waiting for her'."

"Shan Yu of the Huns?" Levy repeated. "Hm…"

"Something wrong, shorty?" Gajeel asked her, his hand still on her shoulder as she tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"Everything's wrong, Gajeel," she replied grimly. "I just thought… I've heard that name from somewhere…"

"He doesn't sound like someone from a fairy tale," observed Laki. "More like someone from a nightmare…"

"But the pattern is still being followed," said Cana. "The surprise attack, the call to arms, the portal-"

"But we were wrong."

Everyone looked around. Erza released Meredy and got to her feet, her eyes hidden by her scarlet bangs. "We thought the victims were just girls from Fairy Tail," she continued, her voice raw with pain and rage. "But Jellal does not fit either of those categories. _What do these people want?!_"

"E-Erza-san," said Meredy, "I don't understand… has something like this happened before?"

"Yes. Two girls from our guild were taken the same way. The Wicked Stepmother, the Sea Witch, the Chieftain… they're all together in this somehow. But they're not just targeting Fairy Tail girls…" Erza raised her head, but only Meredy could see the expression in her eyes. Only Meredy could see Erza's fear. Erza's anger. Erza's pain.

"They're attacking anyone who is close to us."

* * *

_Who is that girl I see  
__Staring straight back at me?  
__Why is my reflection someone I don't know?  
__Why must I pretend that I'm  
__Someone else for a time?  
__When will my reflection show  
__Who I am inside?__  
_

~ "Relfection" by Lea Salonga from _Mulan_

* * *

So I'm feeling the need to explain my choice of song for this chapter. I chose Reflection because even though Erza is always herself around her guild members, she tends to be rather guarded around Jellal. Which SUCKS 'cause they need to be together dangit! But anyway, I'm using this song to represent the frustration I think she must have with their relationship. It must be frustrating, since a) Jellal was possessed by Ultear's magic (I'm not entirely sure I'll ever forgive her for that) and went completely evil wackjob on her, b) Mystogan shows up with Jellal's face after everyone thinks Jellal is dead, c) Jellal thought to be dead came back without a memory of anything except Erza, d) he was imprisoned seemingly permanently cuz the Magic Council is heartless, and e) even though he's officially on the good side and trying to make up for his past, people like Lahar, Kagura, and Mavis knows who else are STILL trying to capture and/or kill him. Not to mention the fact that he's an IDIOT and thinks he doesn't DESERVE Erza cuz of things that were OUT OF HIS CONTROL (i.e. being possessed and turned evil) so he REFUSES to let himself be happy with her which is twisted cuz he doesn't realize he's affecting her happiness as well and he even goes as far as to kiss her and then pretend he's engaged even though Erza knew he was lying... GAAAH I LOVE THIS SHIP BUT IT FRUSTRATES ME SO MUCH!

Ok, now that the rant is over, I have a question for all of you: were you surprised? I expected everyone to think that Erza was going to be the one kidnapped, not Jellal, but I figured Jellal would work better to go along with the story line for Mulan. But I don't know if that expectation is false or not, so I'd love to hear from you!

Once again, gomen for taking so long in the update! I promise the next one will be quicker! And please review!

Thanks to the following for reviewing/following/favoriting on the last chapter:

**Erza Scarlet Fairy Tail  
****RoseGuardian23  
Liani**  
**BlueFairy10**  
**babypapaya**  
** .925**  
**redhead1251**  
**Simlop**  
**babyluv360**  
**odette12**  
**CathySantiel**  
**Supernaturalchick85** (Hey I love Supernatural too! :D)  
**Pandachan12**  
**ReaderxGirl789**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Yo! I'm back! And a lot sooner than the last update, as promised!

Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh, I love you people. A total of 18 new reviews since the last chapter?! I almost had some humany-wumany tears of joy, cuz that's a lot for me! Arigatogozaimasu, thank you all very much, minna-san! *blows kisses and air hugs* For those of you who reviewed, I'll leave some quick replies at the bottom of the chapter for you! And here's your update! If you're reading through this for the first time, thanks for deciding to read my story first of all, and I hope you're enjoying it! I'd love to hear from you as well!

Thanks to the following people for reviewing, favoriting, and/or alerting the story: **StingIsNotHere, TheGrammarQueen, MaiaSaraye17, babyluv360, woflrunnerable12, Liani, xEhyeh-Asher-Ehyehx, 1fangirl'Iliketrains, teentitangirls1, Odette12, Pandachan120, **Guest 1, Guest 2,** RoseGuardian23, BlueFairy10, LightandDarkHeart, ladyevil015, blumenwiese, Alldeey28, and IceWatermage**

* * *

**Chapter Eight – Conflict**

Makarov's office was as silent as a graveyard. After Meredy brought the news of Jellal's capture, Erza had taken her straight to the guild and found the master in deep discussion with Gray and Elfman. After Meredy had retold her story, the master sent her to the infirmary with Wendy to get some healing and rest. Makarov was currently sitting on top of his desk, his walking stick on his shoulder and his legs crossed. Elfman, the only other person in the room sitting down was in a wooden chair in front of the desk, staring at his clasped hands. Gray, who was still rather pale and sickly from that morning, was leaning against the wall, one foot propped up and his arms folded. Both he and Elfman had been working tirelessly all day to find some clue to Evergreen and Juvia's location, but they had come up empty. And now Erza had come to join them, her arms also crossed as she stared out the window. All three teens had the same worried, haunted looks in their eyes as they all thought of that one specific person.

_Evergreen…  
_

_Juvia…_

_Jellal…_

The door opened, breaking the group out of their thoughts as Wendy, Cana, Laxus, Mirajane, and Gajeel entered the office. Each face was solemn and serious. They each acknowledged Elfman, Gray, and Erza with sad smiles or nods, but the grieving trio merely frowned back in response.

As soon as the door was closed again, Master Makarov raised his head and spoke. "I thank you all for coming here so late, especially when many of you had to leave your beds. Where are Natsu and Lucy?"

"Pantherlily is going to get them," answered Gajeel, who had been sent on the errand of gathering the group in the first place.

Makarov sighed. "We may as well start without him. Knowing Natsu and his sleeping habits, they won't be here for several more minutes, and we cannot delay any longer."

Mira, who was wearing a coat over her nightgown, stepped forward to stand at Elfman's elbow. "Please, Master," she said as Erza and Gray left their posts to join the group, "why are we all here? Has something happened?"

"I'm afraid so, Mira. Not over an hour ago, a young woman we all know as Meredy brought as the news of a third kidnapping."

"Another one?!" Laxus exclaimed. Despite having been just recently woken up, he was fully dressed in his usual purple shirt and jeans, his black fur coat draped around his shoulders. "But… who-"

"Jellal," Mira realied with a gasped. Everyone looked over at Erza, who was clenching her arms so tightly she was putting dents in her own armor.

"I'm afraid so," confirmed Makarov. "According to Meredy, she was taken by a man called Chieftain Shan Yu, leader of the Hun army."

"Is Meredy okay?" asked Cana. "She looked pretty messed up last I saw her."

"She's okay," piped up Wendy. "Cana and Romeo are looking after her."

"Never mind the girl," growled Gajeel. "Who the heck is this Shan Yu character? I don't recognize him from any fairy tale I know about."

"Yes, I imagine you would know a lot about fairy tales, Gajeel," said Cana sarcastically. Gajeel scowled.

"I recognized it," Elfman said, looking up at his sister. "Mira used to tell us the story he's the villain of. He comes from a fairy tale just like all the others, although this one isn't as well known. It's called _Mulan_."

"_Mulan?_" repeated Cana. "The girl who disguised herself as a boy to fight in a war in the place of her father? I'd forgotten about that one!" She whirled around to Erza. "I would've thought that you of all people would recognize that story."

The look Erza gave her was colder than any ice creation Gray could ever make. "I didn't exactly live a childhood full of fairy tales, Cana," she said briskly.

"That aside," said Laxus, returning everyone to the present conversation, "I thought these freaks were only after the female members of our guild. Jellal is not a member of Fairy Tail, and as far as I know he's not a woman." Ignoring the evil eye Erza was throwing him, he added, "Either way, he doesn't fit the pattern. So why did they go after him?"

"I do not think we can continue operating under the pretense that the people who have been kidnapped are the actual targets," Makarov answered his grandson grimly. "Consider the fact that each kidnapper called for a specific person to come and rescue their victim."

Erza frowned. "So they're actually after _us_, and they kidnapped Jellal and the others to use as bait?"

"It would appear that way."

"But why?" Gray demanded, sounding angry. "What do they want from us? What did we ever do to them?!"

"Well, think about this," said Master Makarov. "What is the one thing everyone in this room has in common?"

There was a heartbeat of silence. Then…

"We were all on one of the teams in the Grand Magic Games," said Erza.

"So whoever is behind this is trying to get revenge on Fairy Tail for winning the games?" suggested Elfman.

"Who would do that?" asked Wendy. "One of the opposing teams?"

Cana snorted. "I think we can rule out Quatro Puppy. They're not smart enough for this."

"I think we can rule out Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus, and Mermaid Heel as well," said Gray.

"I don't know about Mermaid Heel," said Mira suspiciously. "Didn't two of them have a big grudge against Jellal?"

"That has been resolved," said Erza. "Besides, why would they go for Evergreen or Juvia if they just wanted revenge on Jellal?"

"We can rule out Sabertooth, too," said Gajeel suddenly. "I talked to Sting and Ryos – I mean Rogue – during that party at Crocus, and since Sting is the new master, they no longer have any quarrel with us."

"We can't say that for all of them," said Laxus bracingly. "What about the former master and his witch-crazy daughter?"

"I can definitely see Jiemma and Minerva pulling something like this," said Gray darkly. "I don't know how the heck they'd manage it, though."

"Maybe it's Raven Tail," suggested Cana, looking up at Laxus. "They've definitely got a grudge against us."

Laxus glared at the floor. "I'm not sure I can see Ivan going for something like this, either," he said. "Messing around with fairy tales… that's not his style."

"Wait a minute," said Wendy suddenly. "If whoever these people are really are kidnapping people to get revenge on the team members, then why did they take Juvia? She was on one of the teams, and she was in the final battle. Jellal was on the beginning team too, though he was in disguise, so they might not know that."

"Maybe they just want revenge on the Fairy Tail A Team," said Cana. "All the people they've called out to rescue their victims were a member of that team."

"That doesn't make much sense either, since Elfman wasn't on that team for very long," Gajeel disagreed. "And the original A team didn't even complete the games. We had to combine after Raven Tail was kicked out."

Elfman growled loudly, clutching his hair. "This is all so confusing!" he shouted. "Why can't these people just man up and face us head-on instead of messing with us like this?"

"Because that's the point," Erza said darkly. "If our enemy just came at us head-on in a battle, we would just fight them off and be done with it. This way they can toy with our minds, make us doubt our strength, play with us like puppeteers pulling our strings as they watch us scramble and suffer. That sort of foul play is much more entertaining for an enemy than a straight-on war."

Everyone stared at Erza. Looking up and noticing this, she demanded, "What?"

"N-nothing," Cana said, turning away sheepishly.

"Erza's got a point, though." This time, everyone turned to Gray, who was glowering at the floor with his hands shoved in his pockets. "Maybe these people aren't out for revenge after all. Maybe they just want someone to play with, and we happened to be the lucky pick. We won't have any idea until we find out who they are, so we shouldn't waste precious time speculating about it."

"Gray's right," Elfman agreed. "Ever, Juvia, and Jellal are all out there somewhere. Our main focus should be finding them and protecting anyone else who can be considered a target."

"But how do we even begin to guess who they're going to target next?" asked Mira. "We thought they were just going after girls in Fairy Tail, but that got thrown out the window with Jellal's capture."

"You're all ignoring one crucial clue," said Makarov, and everyone looked once again to the master as he stood up on the desk. "Everyone who was taken has a strong relationship – particularly a romantic one – with certain members of our guild."

Elfman, Gray, and Erza froze like animals caught in headlights. Everyone else also became quite still, shocked that the master had brought up such a sensitive subject.

"I'm sorry to have to bring this up," continued Makarov. "I know this is a touchy topic for most of you. But it seems to me that these villains are luring our strongest wizards into battle by taking the people closest to them. Whoever they are, they know our strength comes from our bonds, and they are targeting the strongest and… most complicated of those bonds. I don't know if they necessarily have to be romantic bonds or not, but that does seem to be the pattern."

Erza made a strangled sort of choking noise. Gray's eyes were nearly popping out of his head and his lips were pressed tight together. Elfman looked as though he was trying to swallow something very large and unpleasant.

"Master," said Cana, her own voice starting to shake, "are you saying that these enemies are going after the people we care about most… for blackmail, or for bait?"

"Yes, Cana," said Makarov dolefully. "I believe they're targeting our strongest members by taking the people they love most."

"Lisanna," Mira gasped, fear for her baby sister clutching her heart. Laxus's eyes, however, darted straight to Mirajane, his expression almost identical to Gray's. Gajeel was trying to seem nonchalant, but the force with which he was gripping his biceps, his nails digging into his own skin, betrayed his worry for Levy. Wendy was biting her nails anxiously, as though she was trying to decide who she cared about most.

"But… Master," said Cana uncertainly, "it's not that I'm not worried about everyone else… but surely you don't think they're going to try and get to _me_. I'm not anywhere near the level of these guys…"

"You shouldn't underestimate yourself, Cana," said Makarov with a grim smile. "You're one of the very few members in the entire history of our guild who could bear one of the three Fairy Magics. And, while it's unlikely there really is a connection to the Grand Magic Games, you were on the Fairy Tail B team for a time. I think it's possible that someone may try to get to you juts as much as they would anyone else in this room."

Cana gulped and took a step back. She not only looked fearful, but also vulnerable, the way she only did whenever she was worrying about her father, Gildarts. "Then what do we do?" she asked in a quavering voice.

"The only thing we can do," replied Makarov, "is stick close together and protect the people we care about. Since the last three attacks have happened in the last three nights, it's likely that the next one will be attempted tomorrow night. Erza, Gray, and Elfman will keep trying to find the other three victims. In the meantime, everyone must keep on their toes and be prepared for the worst."

* * *

A few minutes later found the GMG group in the nearly empty guild hall. Once Master Makarov had dismissed them from his office, they had gathered around one of the tables to share a solemn, tense silence. Cana, as usual, was drinking, but not with her usual vigor; she was too distracted by the two halves of the communication card her father had given her, which she had laid on the table. Erza was sitting with her head in her hands, and Wendy and Mira were on either side of her, the latter with her hand on the requip mage's shoulder. Erza had wanted to immediately go out and start searching for Jellal, but with Meredy still asleep, she had no idea where to even start. Laxus was leaning back against the table next to Mira, his eyes never leaving her, while Elfman sat across from his sister, staring at his clenched fists. Gray sat on top of the table, one leg propped up and his arm resting on his knee, his back to everyone. Gajeel was sitting on the floor near the table, his back against the stage, his red eyes distant. Everyone was worried, though for different reasons and for different people, and though no one spoke, their fear and anxiety filled the silence like a never-ending roll of thunder signaling an oncoming storm.

Finally, Gray broke the silence, his voice echoing unnaturally loud in the immense guild hall. "We can't let this go on," he growled. "This has to end. We can't lose any more guild members to these freaks."

"They've lost their element of surprise," pointed out Laxus. "We're all on our guard now. That must count for _something._"

"If only we knew who was behind this," slurred Cana. "And where they were hiding."

"But it's just like Gray and the Master said," spoke Erza, lifting her head out of her hands and pushing her scarlet bangs out of her eyes. "The question isn't who's responsible; the question is who will they strike next and how many people they intend to take."

"Conflict."

Everyone looked around at Elfman. He was still staring down at the table, not looking anyone in the eye. But it was definitely him who had spoken. "What was that, Elfman?" Mira asked her brother gently.

Elfman's fists clenched tighter. "I think Jii-chan had the right idea when he said these guys were attacking our strongest bonds, but I don't think that's all. I think it has something to do with the conflict in those bonds." He raised his head, and everyone was shocked at the grief and regret that was in his eyes. No one had seen him look that way since the day he presumably killed Lisanna. "I had an argument with Evergreen the night she was taken. Not that that's unusual – the two of us have become pretty well known for bickering like an old married couple since the S Class Exams – but this fight… well, it was a little more personal. I didn't think that had anything to do with this, but now…"

"Now _what_, Elfman?" Laxus growled. Elfman spared him a challenging look before turning to Gray. "Gray, I know you turned down Juvia's confession in Crocus, but she still loves you whether you return her feelings or not. That must have caused some conflict between the two of you."

Gray whirled around. "You're saying it's _my fault_ Juvia got captured?! I already know that I failed to save her, but if you think something like _that_ caused all of this-"

"What else did, then?" Elfman demanded. "Why else would Juvia have been targeted in the first place? If I'm to blame for Evergreen getting kidnapped, then you're just as guilty as I am. Maybe you should be a man and own up to your feelings and actions!"

Gray let out an indignant snarl and leapt to his feet. He greatly resented the thought of him turning down Juvia – an act he had thought would be good for the both of them – was the reason she had been taken from him. But then he thought of the occasional sad smile he'd catch her giving him when she thought he wasn't looking. He thought of how she had suddenly seemed rather cautious whenever she was around him, like she was afraid of overstepping a line. While Gray had been relieved Juvia had, more or less, stopped stalking him, he would sometimes catch himself wishing for that rather than the way she was so guarded around him now. He thought of how hurt had had been when Juvia snapped at him while under the seashell's spell, how she had dropped the honorific from his name, how her usual loving smile had been replaced by a twisted glare full of hatred. Those were things that had annoyed him, but he hadn't realized how he'd come to accept, and even enjoy, Juvia's attention until he received the alternative. Until it was gone.

"Gray-san," Wendy murmured in worry, seeing the pained expression on her friend's face.

"It's not just Gray, either," continued Elfman, turning to Erza. "You can hardly find a pair more manly than Jellal and Erza. First he was your closest friend, then he was your greatest enemy, then he was _dead_, then he was an amnesiac, then he was imprisoned. And now he's on the run. I might not know details, but it's clear that you two have a roller coaster of complications on your hands. I'm surprised this Shan Yu bloke didn't go after him sooner."

"Elfman!" Mira exclaimed angrily, getting to her feet along with Wendy, who stood at Erza's side defensively. Erza looked as though Elfman had just slapped her, but Elfman seemed remorseless. Something had changed in him since Evergreen's capture. He'd become colder, harder.

"You know it's true, Mira," he now said, completely unabashed by his sister's chastising glare as he, too, stood. "It makes sense. And it must be why all the kidnappers are acting like fairy tale villains, too; they're making us characters in their own twisted love stories, and they're doing that by targeting those of us with the most complex love lives." Elfman looked over at Cana. "In other words, I don't think Lisanna or Gildarts are in any trouble."

Cana's sigh of relief was broken off by a hiccup as her bottle of sake fell from her hands. "That's… good to know," she murmured, her head falling on her arms. Her soft snores told the group that she had fallen asleep.

"If Elfman is right," said Laxus, "then figuring out the next target is easy. Which one of us has a relationship full of conflict?"

En masse, everyone turned to Gajeel. It was several moments before the Iron Dragon Slayer looked up and noticed this. "What?" he demanded in his usual bad-temper.

"Gajeel," said Mira carefully, "how… how are you and Levy doing?"

"_Nani?!"_

"You and Levy," repeated Gray, folding his arms. "How would you describe the relationship between you two?"

Gajeel's eyes widened as Erza stood, leaving Gajeel the only one on sitting. Noticing this, the Iron Dragon Slayer leapt to his feet. "What're you- it's nothing like that!"

"You sure about that?" asked Elfman with a raised eyebrow. "Your relationship with Levy goes beyond average friendship, pal."

"How do you mean?" Gajeel demanded.

"It's obvious, Gajeel," said Erza rather sternly. "The first time you met Levy, you beat up her and her teammates in order to make Fairy Tail go to war with Phantom Lord."

Gajeel hissed, baring his sharp dragon teeth and clenching his fists. Wendy's eyes were wide, as she was not in the guild during that war with Phantom and had not been told the story. Several people in the group cast Erza uneasy glances; no one had ever brought the subject of Gajeel's attack on Shadow Gear since he had joined the guild. It had been too sore a subject in the beginning, and now it was so distant in the past, and Gajeel had done so much to make up for it, that hardly anyone ever even thought about it. No one had dared mention it to the Iron Dragon Slayer, and it was not clear that it was a rather testy subject. Trying to ease the sudden increase in tension, Laxus said, "the second time you met her, you saved her from my lightning, putting yourself in the blast. You did the same thing again when she came into the cathedral during our battle at the festival."

"She's tiny!" Gajeel exclaimed. "She wasn't going to be able to fend off anything from you by herself!"

"Is that why you volunteered yourself to be her partner for the S-Class exams?" asked Mira.

"I was a better option than Jet or Droy," Gajeel snapped. "They couldn't protect her from anything!"

"But you can," said Erza. "And you do. We saw what happened with those two lackeys from Grimoire Heart. We know the lengths you would go to in order to protect her. I noticed that tonight, too, when you were escorting us girls and you thought we were about to be attacked."

"She trusts you," added Gray. "Despite how you guys first met and how you argue and tease each other, she stays by your side. I see her with you more than I see her with Jet and Droy nowadays."

"You tend to follow her around, too," said Wendy almost apologetically. "I noticed how you went to the aquarium with her at Ryuutetsu Land, even though you didn't look very enthused about the idea."

"It's not like there was anything better to do!" Gajeel cried. "You guys are making too big a deal out of this!"

"Did you see how Levy was reacting during your battle with the Twin Dragons?" asked Mira. "She was cheering you on the entire time."

"That doesn't mean-"

"Maybe not to you," Mira interrupted, putting her hands on her hips, "but to a girl, it means a lot. Besides, I know for a fact that you two went on that Love-Love slide at Ryuutetsu Land together."

"So were Gray and Lyon, but that doesn't prove anything!"

"Hey!"

"Oh, shut up, ice princess," Gajeel growled, pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation. "So Levy and I have gotten used to each other's presence. What's your point?"

"Our point, Gajeel," said Erza seriously, "is that if any of us have a complicated relationship, it's you, which means Levy could be the next person attacked!"

"_Like I'd let that happen!"_ Gajeel suddenly roared.

Everyone went silent as Gajeel glared at them all, looking ready to beat up anyone who dared doubt his ability to protect his favorite script mage. There was fury burning in his eyes, but it wasn't his usual rage; there was an even stronger emotion peering through the flames, something that not even someone as calloused and indifferent as Gajeel Redfox could hide. Seeming to realize this, Gajeel blinked and shook his head, standing straight and folding his arms.

"There's someone we're forgetting about," a bleary voice said, and everyone jumped in surprise. Cana had woken up and was staring at them over her arms, her eyes slightly out of focus. "What about Natsu and Lucy?"

"Salamander and Bunny Girl?" Gajeel snorted. "Get real."

"No," said Mira slowly, "Cana has a point. I don't know if their relationship is necessarily complicated-"

"I don't think anything can be complicated when it comes to Natsu," Elfman sniggered. "It'd make his head hurt."

Mira gave her brother a chastising look. "As I was saying, it's not complicated, but it's definitely strengthening and changing. I noticed them acting a little differently around each other on Tenrou Island. I don't know how or why, but something must have happened that made them see each other differently."

"Does Natsu still break into Lucy's apartment?" Cana asked with a drunken giggle.

"Absolutely," confirmed Erza as if she was answering a question about the current weather. "But Natsu's been getting more protective of her lately. I noticed that during our adventure with the infinity clock."

"They're like best friends," Wendy piped up. "They trust each other completely. They protect each other and help each other. They're like a perfect team."

"Doesn't Lucy yell at him a lot?" asked Gajeel skeptically.

"I think that's only because she secretly enjoys it," said Mira with a smile.

"The Grand Magic Games," Gray said suddenly. "During the battle with Flare… even though it was just Lucy against her, Natsu was with her the entire time, supporting her during the battle and comforting her after she lost. And the way he reacted when Minerva was beating her… I mean, we were all worried and angry of course, but what I saw was beyond the usual Natsu."

"You haven't even mentioned how he reacted when Lucy got arrested by the royal guards," said Erza. "_He gave up fighting in the final battle for her_. And since this is Natsu we're talking about, that is _very _significant."

"And Natsu is one of our most famous and powerful mages," said Mira. "Not to mention he's a Dragon Slayer."

"Lucy's not someone to mess with, either," said Laxus. "She's much stronger than she was when she first joined the guild."

"So let's say that Natsu and Lucy were going to be targeted," said Elfman. "Who would they kidnap? Natsu or Lucy?"

"I'd put money on Bunny Girl," said Gajeel. "Though whoever goes after her should expect some major hell from Natsu."

"Lucy does have a habit of being kidnapped," sighed Mira. Everyone was careful not to look at Gajeel, who himself had kidnapped Lucy on at least one occasion.

Cana, who was falling back into her drunken stupor, suddenly perked up. "Hey, hey guys," she stammered, staring wildly around the room. "Guys, I just noticed something. Wasn't Natsu and Lucy supposed to be here? If Lily went to get them where'd they go?"

"Hey, you're right," said Wendy, her eyes travelling around the empty guild almost as frantically as Cana's. "You guys don't think-"

Erza suddenly gasped. All eyes whirled to her as she gave a wide-eyed look to Gray, who stared back at her for several seconds before horror dawned in his on expression and he slammed a fist on the table with a loud curse.

"What is it?" Mira asked, the pitch of her voice shooting up. "You guys, what's wrong?"

"They're gone," Gray snarled.

"Nani?!"

The guild doors suddenly burst open. The group whirled around, half of them already in battle positions and Cana swaying on her feet, as Pantherlily flew across the guild hall toward them at full speed.

"Lily!"

"Gajeel! Minna!" Pantherlily stopped in midair, his wings quivering as he hovered in front of the group. "I went to Natsu and Lucy's houses, but they were both empty! I looked all over Magnolia and can't find them anywhere!"

"They're not in Magnolia," said Erza miserably. "I forgot, they left on a job earlier this evening and they won't be back until late tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night?!" cried Mira. "But they could be the next target! They don't know what's happened yet!"

"Where'd they go?" demanded Laxus.

"To a mountain-forest area in the north. The job was to collect some rare water plants form the middle of a lake guarded by a witch. Since Juvia wasn't available to take the job and Lucy has Aquarius…"

"Do you think they'll be safer far away from the guild?" Wendy suggested hopefully.

"Distance didn't protect Jellal," said Laxus darkly. "We have to find them and warn them."

"They took the train to the city nearest the forest," said Erza. "That's where they met with the client. Then they planned to hike into the forest to camp for the night before starting the mission tomorrow."

"We can probably catch them before they get on the train back and warn them of the danger."

"What if they don't take the train back?" fretted Mira. "You know how Natsu is with transportation."

Gajeel snorted. "Please, Mira. This is _Bunny Girl_ we're talking about. There's no way Salamander will convince her to _walk_ back to Magnolia."

* * *

_Everyday, we started fighting.  
__Every night, we fell in love.  
__No one else, could make me sadder,  
__But no one else, could lift me high above._

_I don't know, what I was doing,  
__When suddenly, we fell apart.  
__Nowadays, I cannot find her,  
__But when I do, we'll get a brand new start._

_I'm in love, with a fairytale,  
__Even though it hurts,  
_'_Cause I don't care if I lose my mind.  
__I'm already cursed._

~"Fairytale" by Alexander Rybak

* * *

A/N: I hope this chapter wasn't too boring! It was a bit of a filler chapter, with everyone scrambling to try and figure out what's going on, but I thought some speculation and theorizing was called for here. Just wait until the FT gang finds out what's REALLY going on! mwahahahahahahahaaaa!

I love being a writer guys, seriously XD

Anyway, I'd love to hear what you guys think! Please review if you can :)

P.S. - I'm just wondering, how many of you guys have heard the Character Songs for the FT characters? My BFF introduced them to me last weekend and they are incredible! GAJEEL CAN FREAKING SING PEOPLE. MR. SHOOBEEDOOBOP CAN REALLY SHOO BEE DOO BOP! His songs are my favorites, so I definitely suggest you look them up if you have the time!

And now it's almost 1am, so I'm going to go to bed XP Just wanted to get this story updated before I got caught up in work again. Another busy week ahead! Until next chapter!

Review Replies:

**StingIsNotHere, MaiaSaraye17, wolfrunnerable12, **and** teentitansgirl1**: Thank you guys so much! I'm glad you like the story so far :D

**TheGrammarQueen**: Haha yes, I made Elfman a sir! He will definitely be a sir at the end of the story as well XD

**babyluv360**: You might be surprised by what I have in store for Lucy, though you're partially right ;) Thanks for reviewing!

**Liani**: Haha yeah I feel like a lot of people saw Mulan coming, it's too perfect for Erza! And I'm definitely looking forward to getting Natsu and Lucy's chapter up, it was my favorite one to write and I hope it'll be your favorite to read!

**xEhyeh-Asher-Ehyehx**: Yay I did surprise someone! :D Sorry about your phone though, I hate it when mine starts to act up :P thanks for your last review though, it made me so happy!

**1fangirl'Iliketrains**: That is a good idea, though I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. I have other ideas for Sleeping Beauty, and while Wendy and Romeo are definitely an adorable couple and I ship them, they won't be the main focus of this story. A Wendy-Romeo-Sleeping Beauty story will definitely be taken into consideration for the future though, if you don't mind :)

**Odette12**: I love Mulan as well, and Erza's definitely a perfect fit for it. Holy cow, I LOVE Erza! She is my absolute favorite character in Fairy Tail, I admire her so much and she's taught me a lot since I've gotten into Fairy Tail. Erza Power FOR THE WIN!

**Pandachan20**: haha I agree wholeheartedly! Jellal's a great hero, but it's Erza's turn to save him! For Erza I like to apply this saying I saw on facebook one day: "Don't wait for your Prince Charming, go find him. The poor idiot's probably stuck in a tree or something." I love Jellal, but he does have a bit of a thick skull when it comes to his girl XP

**Guest 1**: Thank you so much for your enthusiastic reviews, whoever you are! Yes, Juvia is the mermaid, I'm glad you liked how I wrote her! I surprised myself and actually enjoyed writing her as well, I've never written her as a main character before, she's always just been on the side until now. It was fun to get inside her head and try and figure out what she's thinking and feeling. I actually did ship Lyvia for a while as well because I loved how Lyon - freaking LYON of all people! - fell head-over-heels for her on first sight. I'm glad you like the Erza-Mulan crossover, and I agree, she is definitely her own hero, as well as mine!

**Guest 2**: You called my chapter about Juvia's kidnapping "riveting". No one has ever said that about my writing before. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT. You have no idea how happy that made me! I definitely had fun writing Juvia. I know a lot of people write her as a bit of an airhead, lovesick puppy, but I think she's so much more than that! I think she truly loves Gray, despite him being an unromantic idiot, and I feel like what happened at GMG had a huge affect on her. I'm glad you enjoyed my twist, and I totally agree about Gajeel and Levy! I've been watching a lot of GaLe clips from the episodes lately, mainly the Fantasia Festival arc and the Tenroujima arc, and I've been reminded just how much of a BOSS Gajeel really is. While Erza is my favorite character in Fairy Tail, our dear Iron Dragon Slayer takes a very close second place! He and Natsu are definitely not going to relinquish their girls easily, as Gajeel proved in this chapter :) Wendy and Romeo are a very cute pair I think, and while they aren't the main focus of this story, I wanted to throw a little bit of them in, as well as some of Mira x Laxus, though I can't decide if I ship her with him or Freed more... anyway, I digress. Thank you so much for your kind reviews, sir/ma'am anonymous! :D

**RoseGuardian23**: Thanks for reviewing again! Also thanks for your comment about my work, it's been busy but I've almost got all the money I need saved up so it's gonna be worth it! I'm glad to hear we think alike concerning Jerza, and I agree, Erza's definitely not a damsel. I admire her so much! I love how protective Gajeel is, I feel like there is so much more to him than what he lets people see. His character has so much depth and personality, I love him! He's second only to Erza on my top favorite FT characters list :D I'm glad you're enjoying the story!

**BlueFairy10**: First off, thanks for reviewing so regularly! I look forward to hearing from you :) Yeah I'm getting the feeling that a lot of people saw the twist coming, I didn't expect it to be a huge shock, but I was curious as to what people thought :P and I'm REALLY looking forward to you and the other readers reading how the guys (plus Erza) are going to get their girls back. It makes me tremble just thinking about it! *laughs madly, fingers tapping together and eyes wide and twitching from side to side*


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **Aaaaaand we're back! Ohayo, minna-san! So this chapter is considerably shorter than the last one, and it's more of an intro chapter to this next section of the story than anything else, but I promise you more action and fairy tale romance is swiftly approaching! So here's chapter nine!

Thanks to the following for favoriting, following, and/or reviewing! Love you guys!

**Xxx Cool Blue Sky Xxx, saphiredragonstorm, otakufire1028, BlueFox of the Moon, MelsAnOtaku, fairytail08, loserswin2, Liani, Guest, xEhyeh-Asher-Ehyehx, NeonStrom, fairygirl, JERZA FTW, **and** wolfrunnerable12**! _ARIGATOGOZAIMAS!_

* * *

**Chapter Nine: Once Upon a Nightmare**

"'I can't believe you convinced me to walk back to Magnolia!' she cries despairingly."

Natsu rolled his eyes and looked back at Lucy, who was currently curled up inside of a certain clock spirit. "You're not even the one _walking_, 'he said exasperatedly'," he retorted.

"Exasperatedly?" Happy repeated from Natsu's shoulder. "I've never heard you use such a big word, Natsu! That's more than three syllables!"

"Just 'cause I don't say big words don't mean I don't know 'em!" Natsu shouted.

"'Uh, I think the more correct term is _in exasperation_,' she declares sardonically," voiced Hologorium for Lucy.

"Hey, one big word at a time! Anyway, who cares?" Natsu linked his fingers behind his head and stretched his biceps. "At least we got our job done sooner than we expected!"

"'Only because you evaporated the lake, almost destroying the plant we were supposed to retrieve! Not to mention you burned down a good chunk of the surrounding forest!' she exclaims furiously."

"I was aiming for that woman's magic staff thing, it was annoying me!"

"'_You're_ annoying _me_, so should I burn down half a forest too?!' she inquires sarcastically."

"Oh, lighten up, Luce, at least we finished the job."

"'Over half our reward went to the damage bill!' she wails."

"You got enough to pay your rent!"

"'Barely!' she spits."

"She spits?! That's not ladylike, Lucy!" exclaimed Happy. "And I didn't know you were so greedy!"

"Shut up, cat!"

There was a sudden chirp of a cuckoo clock. "Time's up, gotta go!" chirped Hologorium before vanishing with a poof, leaving Lucy to fall unceremoniously on her bottom with a loud squawk.

"Wait!" she cried. "Hologorium, please, can't I get an extension just this once?!" Knowing no such favor would be granted, Lucy hung her head miserably. It had already been a long day, and she had only agreed to walking because she didn't want to spend the entire evening listening to Natsu's complaints about the impeding train ride leading up to his motion sickness moaning on the actual train. Now, however, she was wishing she had shouldered the complaints and taken the train. As it was, they were just going to make it to the edge of the forest before nightfall, and then they would have to make camp and finish the journey tomorrow, where they were sure to meet the wrath of a certain guild master and a certain requip mage, both of whom must have heard about the damages by now. As if Makarov and Erza weren't the least of her concerns, they had at least two hours before they could make camp, which meant two more hours of hiking through the forest. And Lucy was _tired!_

"Get on."

Lucy looked up and found, to her surprise, Natsu crouched down in front of her, his back to her and his arms out behind him. "Uh… Natsu?"

Natsu looked around and give her a smile. "Climb on," he repeated, jerking his head once. "I don't wanna listen to you complaining the entire walk home."

"Don't take my excuse for yourself!" Lucy snapped angrily. But Natsu merely laughed, wiggling his fingers to show he was waiting. With a sigh, Lucy wrapped her arms around his shoulders and allowed him to hoist her up, her hands secured around the back of her knees. His warmth seemed to warp around her like a blanket, warding of the chilly forest air around them, and Lucy sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. "Arigato, Natsu," she murmured. And even though she couldn't see it, Natsu smiled.

"He _liiiiikes_ you!" trilled Happy, who was now flying over their heads as his usually perch was now occupied.

"_Shut up, Cat!"_

"_Shaddup, Happy!"_

Lucy and Natsu both exchanged surprised looks, having spoken at the exact same time, and laughed as they started walking again. Even with Lucy on his back, Natsu's pace was hardly slowed from his normal walking speed. Lucy leaned her head on against his shoulder again, closing her eyes contentedly and matching her breathing with the rhythm of his stride. Her warm breath on the back of his neck was inexplicably sending shivers down Natsu's spine. The Fire Dragon Slayer swallowed hard and cast his gaze around the surrounding forest, his onyx eyes suddenly cold and wary.

He was worried about Lucy. He found himself worrying about her a lot lately, starting at the infinity clock business and increasing since the Grand Magic Games. And now, after Evergreen's and Juvia's kidnappings, his concern had become almost an obsession. It wasn't like he didn't think she could take care of herself. Heck, he knew better than anyone how much she had improved in magical strength since she first joined the guild. So he didn't know exactly where this sudden, overprotective instinct was coming from; it wasn't like he often spent hours examining his feelings. All he knew was that seeing her hurt felt like a physical injury to himself, and when she was scared, he felt her fear multiplied by his own. When she was in danger, all he could think about was beating up the jerks who threatened her and bringing her home. He knew these things because he'd experienced them all plus some. He still remembered very vividly how he felt as he watched the future Lucy die in the Grand Magic Games. How Future Rogue's shadowy black blade had pierced her chest, how blood had seeped out from between her lips and stained the stone floor she lay on, how her hand had fallen limp and lifeless out of the present Lucy's grasp, and how he had stood off to the side, unable to do anything… how he had done nothing…

"Natsu, are you okay?"

"Heh?" Natsu turned to see Lucy frowning at him, her face alarmingly close to his. He resisted the urge to turn away again. "What do you mean? I'm fine."

Lucy pressed her hand to his chest, right over his heart. "I felt your heartbeat falter for a second. And you were shaking."

Crap. "Really?" Natsu laughed nervously. "That's weird."

"What's wrong, Natsu? Are you feeling sick? You don't have to carry me if you don't want to, I won't complain about-"

"No," Natsu said a little too suddenly, his hands tightening around her legs. "No, you're fine. I'm fine. It's nothing, really. Don't worry about it, alright? We'll stop and make camp soon."

Lucy pouted at him for a long moment, sensing that he was hiding something, but she eventually put her head back down. Natsu looked up at Happy, who was giving him a very concerned, yet meaningful look.

Happy was the only one who knew about the nightmares.

* * *

"Alright, Asuka," said Alzack as he sat down on the edge of the bed and opened the fairy tale book. "Which story are we reading tonight?"

Asuka sat up and cuddled close to her father's side as he flipped through the book's pages to the next chapter they hadn't read yet. This chapter had two different stories in it: the first one was _Sleeping Beauty_, and the second one was _Snow White and the Seven Dwarves_. Alzack supposed that the author had combined the two stories into once chapter because they were both stories of sleeping curses.

"Ooh, daddy, can we read both stories?" Asuka asked. "Please, pretty please?!"

"Well…" Alzack flipped through the chapter and, seeing that it wasn't too long even with the two stories in it, decided, "Alright, sweetie, we'll finish this chapter tonight. Now, let's see... _Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there lived a King and his fair Queen. Many years had they longed for a child, and finally their wish was granted. A daughter was born, and they called her Aurora…_"

* * *

_Once upon a dream, in a magical kingdom,  
A beautiful princess fell into a long, deep sleep.  
I've been dreaming about you.  
__Only a kiss from a handsome prince could awake her,  
So he could tell her how lovely she is._

_Wake me up._

~ "Once Upon (Another) Dream" by No Secrets

* * *

I'm not the only one who can remember that song at the end, am I? That song was my JAM when I was, like, twelve XP

So in case no one could tell, Natsu is next on my torture list. I think it's rather hard to torture Natsu, since he's so happy-go-lucky all the freaking time, but Lisanna's "death" in the anime/manga proved to me that there were some things that can really cut him deep, and I really think future Lucy dying right in front of him would be one of those things. That will be touched on a lot more throughout the story as well. This chapter was more foreshadowing of things to come. I'm definitely having a lot of fun planning NaLu's demise! MWAHAHAHAHA!

So what do you guys think will happen to Natsu and Lucy? Their little adventure is going to have a lot of little twists to it, more than the others I think, since I've seen so many different renditions of those two fairy tales. I'd love to hear your thoughts and theories, so please review if you can! :)

Until next time, dearies!

Review Replies:

**Liani**: Everything you said in both of your reviews is true! While this is probably not what you were hoping for for the NaLu part of this story, I will let you in on a little secret: the rest of what you said was accurate! So you'll get your wish, dearie, don't worry! And I actually didn't know his name was Adam, that is sort of news to me lol. And don't worry, you'll definitely get to see some of Lucy being awesome in the next couple of chapters!

**Guest**: Thank you so much! And yes, Elfman is different, and that will be touched on later in the story as well. Here's your next chapter! Sorry it's a short one, the next one will be a lot more exciting I promise!

**xEhyeh-Asher-Ehyehx:** Haha thanks! That was a lot of fun for me. I kinda feel like speaking about relationships like that in the guild is a no-no, especially with these specific characters, so it was really fun to force them out of their comfort zone like that XD And yes! Here is a little tidbit of the extensive NaLu awaiting you in this story! They are my OTP so yeah :D

**fairytail08**: Thank you! I've been getting a lot of comments about Juvia and I'm glad you liked how I wrote her as well :D And yeah I'd really hate to be the person who tries to take Erza against her will. The only thing worse would be trying steal her strawberry cake. *shudders*. Daaaaaw, arigato! :D Thank you so much!

**NeonStrom**: I definitely agree with you about NaLu being a good fit with Aladdin. I've actually been thinking about doing a separate crossover story featuring that, but then I got this idea and wanted to do this first. But look out for that crossover in the possible future! And thanks so much for the review!

**MelsAnOtaku**: I'm so happy to hear you're in love with me, though I think we should start out as just friends ;D lol Thank YOU for reviewing this story, I'm glad you're enjoying it so much! Gruvia's chapter is also currently my favorite, though I think it will be quickly replaced with the chapter after the next one! And there's nothing wrong with playing with the obvious And I'm glad you didn't think the last chapter was boring! I hope this one wasn't either :P I hope you didn't actually die but I'm glad you caught on to the suspense and tension I was trying to portray! And weirdos are the best kind of people, so don't you worry about it! Let's embrace our weirdness together!

**Fairygirl:** Here ya go!

**Wolfunnerable12**: That's a good theory! You will find your answer in the next couple of chapters.

**JERZA FTW**: HECK YEAH JERZA! :D While NaLu is my OTP and GaLe is the runner up Jerza is definitely in my top three! I definitely hope you enjoy what I have in store for them if you keep reading!

**Saphiredragonstorm**: Yes! Accurate characters and uniqueness are what I was going for! I now feel like a successful fanfiction writer :D And there's definitely more feels coming your way, many many many feels both good and bad! I'm the Miss Frizzle to your Magic School Bus and I'm taking y'all on a feels trip! Haha, don't be jealous, there are a lot better writers out there than me. It just takes practice, which is a lot of what my fanfics are: practice so I can eventually write a real, original story and be counted in at least the same league of all my novelist heroes! And I'm very glad you enjoyed the Once Upon a Mattress song XD My college roommate introduced me to it last year and I fell in love with it because it is basically the story of my effing life XP and it fits Evergreen well doesn't it?!


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **Heyooo!

What's up, minna-san! I gots another chapter for youuu! :D I've decided that I'm going to try and make my updates weekly as consistently as I can, and since Sundays are really my only day off other than church I picked Sunday. Please forgive me if I can't make it every Sunday, but I will do my best! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, though it also kind of partially killed me cuz I HATE hurting Natsu and Happy - I wasn't planning on what happens to Happy but it just kind of birthed itself as I was writing this and just about cried because of it - I've got you worried now, don't I! I'm such a monster XP Anyway, here you go and I hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Ten: Natsu's Way of Life**

"Natsu?"

The Dragon Slayer in question gave a start, his gaze snapping from the campfire he had just been staring at intently to the Exceed now standing on his right. "Happy! I thought you were sleeping."

Happy shook his head. "Why aren't you going to sleep, Natsu? It's long after dark."

"But I'm not tired!" Natsu declared with a bright grin, holding up his fist and patting his bicep with the other hand. "Besides, someone's gotta keep watch, right? Those goons who kidnapped Juvia and Evergreen might be out here somewhere."

Happy gave Natsu an uncharacteristically sad and serious look. "Natsu, are you worried about having another nightmare in front of Lucy?"

Natsu shrugged and didn't answer, but the glance he shot at the celestial mage's sleeping form next to him gave him away. "Are you sure you're okay, Natsu?" Happy pressed.

"I'm fine!" Natsu responded easily. "Jeez, Happy, it's not like I have bad dreams every night. I'm not depressed or anything."

"No, but you're not acting like your usual self, either. You're acting like you did when Lisanna died, but a bit worse. It's because of what happened to Lucy, right? The future one at the Grand Magic Games? That's what you were thinking about earlier, I know."

A muscle seemed to jump in Natsu's jaw as he stared determinedly back at the fire. Happy had struck a fair point. Natsu really wasn't depressed, though. That just wasn't how he dealt with things. Being the mage he was, Natsu had faced many terrible threats and dangers. He had stared evil and despair in the face multiple times. He had seen and done things that no eighteen year old boy should ever have to go through. But Natsu didn't focus on the past. That wasn't his way. He kept going forward, constantly moving toward the next adventure, the next battle, the next quest, keeping positive and looking toward the future with a smile, doing everything in his power to make it bright. Don't take anything to seriously and go at life full force: that was his mantra. That was his way of life. The only way he knew to live. The only way he could live.

But when it came to losing the people he loved…

"Lisanna was different," Natsu muttered, his voice suddenly low and serious. "I wasn't there when it happened. Lucy was right in front of me and I… I just..."

Happy put a comforting paw on his friend's knee. "No one could have done anything," he said consolingly. "No one expected Rogue to turn into an enemy."

"Lucy did something," Natsu responded, his glassy grey eyes only reflecting the light of the campfire. "Future Lucy. She had to save herself because I wasn't able to, and it cost her her life."

"But that never happened now, Natsu. By destroying the gate, we not only stopped Future Rogue, but was stopped Future Lucy from coming back to the past, too. That means she never died."

"I was there, Happy," snapped Natsu, suddenly testy. Thinking about how breaking the Eclipse Gate changing time hurt the Dragon Slayer's brain too much, so he just stuck with the events he had seen with his own two eyes. And Lucy's death was definitely one of them. "I saw it and I remember it, so it happened."

Natsu didn't have a past like Erza's or Gray's, but he still had his own share of losses under his belt. Losing Igneel was hard at first, but Natsu was positive his foster father had his own reasons for leaving and would come back into his life someday, whether Natsu managed to find him or he simply returned from wherever he had gone. Lisanna had been more difficult to cope with; she was his long time childhood friend, and even though she got him flustered and confused the heck out of him most of the time, Natsu especially treasured the bond he had with her. He'd been the happiest man alive - with the exception of Elfman and Mira - when Lisanna had returned from Edolas.

And then there was Lucy.

She was his best friend. She was weird and crazy and yelled and hit him a lot, and she could be whiny and annoying at times, but Natsu didn't mind too much, because she was also caring, clever, and passionate, too. She loved Fairy Tail and her friends as much as anyone else in the guild did, if not more, and she was always striving to be strong and independent while not forgetting to put her trust into her teammates. Natsu could see how much she had grown since first joining the guild; it was like watching a flower burst into bloom. So losing her... losing her was different. Natsu had nearly lost her twice now, once with the infinity clock mess and the second time during the Grand Magic Games. She had been kidnapped and tortured multiple times before those two incidents, as well. But this last time, the time they were in Mercurius castle, she had actually _died_. She had fallen right before his eyes while he had done nothing but stand and watch, unable to save someone he loved for the first time in his life. That had hurt worse than losing Lisanna and even Igneel. It was a pain reminiscent of the fear he had endured when Erza had tried to sacrifice herself to the Tower of Heaven. It started a panic that made his heart trip and race twice its usual pace, like it was tearing itself into pieces, and ended by creating a hollow, gaping hole in his chest that burned like ice (and he knew very well how painfully ice could burn, thanks to Gray). And when he thought about what would have happened if Future Lucy hadn't stepped forward, if present Lucy, his Lucy, had been the one to take the blow from Future Rogue's blade… _Mavis_, did that hurt.

It was these sort of situations that made it hard for Natsu to stick to his mantra. He could face monsters and dark magic and any other terrible thing the world had to throw at him, no problem, and he would return it all plus some. He could make the entire world regret that it ever housed Natsu Dragneel and do it with a smile on his face. But when it came to losing his comrades…. The thought of anything happening to them _terrified_ him. If he lost them, his future just wasn't going to seem as bright, no matter what he did to try and make up for what was missing. And Lucy was one of the brightest aspects in his future that he could see. Watching her die had cut him deeper than anything else he had been through, like losing an important organ and having to go handicapped for the rest of his life. Of course he had moved on, because she was _alive_ now, after all. He lived day by day just as always, happy he was alive, she was alive, everyone was alive. As he said before, it wasn't like he always got depressed. But there were times when that moment – that dreadful, agonizing moment – when he thought he would lose Lucy forever came bursting through his thoughts and scorched him like fire, a fire not even he could vanquish or control. It was even worse when he was asleep and couldn't control what his subconsciousness pulled up and played in his mind. More than once had he awoken in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, not knowing whether he wanted to scream, vomit, cry, or all of the above, because he had just relived Lucy's death. Thank Mavis Happy was his only roommate and wasn't a squealer. Not even Lucy knew about these flashbacks, and he sure as heck wasn't planning on telling her.

"Lucy's alive, Natsu," said Happy quietly, pointing a paw at the sleeping girl as she stirred in her sleep, humming quietly. "See? She's right there, living and breathing. I don't want you to feel sad about her death when she's _right here_."

The cold, pained look that had entered Natsu's eyes softened as he turned his gaze to Lucy. She was lying down on her side facing the fire, the light of the flames causing her skin to glow and her hair to shine. Her head was about half a foot from Natsu's knee, a blanket wrapped lightly around her curled-up body. Smiling softly, Natsu reached over and pulled the blanket up higher around her shoulders, and then let his hand rest on her arm. Happy was right: there really wasn't any point in dwelling on what had happened or what could have happened. He had stopped it from happening in the end by destroying the gate, right? He'd made up for his grave mistake. Besides, as Happy said, _Lucy was alive_. He could see her right beside him, feel her warmth beneath his hand, hear her steady breathing and heartbeat. Even in her sleep, she was full of life and energy. That was all that mattered. That, and the fact that the unknown future still stretched ahead of him like the rising sun, a thousand plus days waiting to be born. As long as Lucy was a part of that future, Natsu had no reason to be sad. He was not going to make the mistake of letting her die again. He would guarantee it.

"You're right, Happy," Natsu said, pulling a lock of hair out of Lucy's sleeping face and tucking it behind her ear before giving his Exceed partner a wide, toothy smile. "Sorry for acting all depressed. I guess I'm just worried about everything that's happened with our guild members getting kidnapped."

"Do you think anyone else has disappeared since we've been gone?" asked Happy, relieved the subject had changed, though the new topic made him almost as anxious as the previous one.

"I hope not," replied Natsu, his hand on Lucy's shoulder tightening for a split second. "I just hope they're not too worried about us, since we're gonna be back a bit later than we said we would be."

"We should've taken the train, Natsu!" Happy suddenly cried. "Now Erza's probably worried about us and when we get back she'll kill us!"

"Crap, Happy, you're right!" Natsu exclaimed in sudden fear of Erza's wrath. "We'll have to rely on Lucy to protect us!"

"That means we're _definitely_ dead!" Happy wailed. It was a testament to how often Lucy hung around these two that she remained asleep.

Suddenly, Natsu's head whipped around. His eyes dilated and sharpened, his nostrils flaring as his ears twitched, all of his attention focused on the shadows of the forest to their left. "Lucy," he said, shaking the girl's shoulder as he stood up, his voice urgent. "Lucy, wake up."

"Hm, wuzgonnon?" Lucy muttered, sitting up on her elbows slowly as she rubbed sleep out of her eyes.

"What's wrong, Natsu?" asked Happy anxiously. "Did you hear something?"

"Hai," affirmed Natsu. "Something sneakin' around in the trees over there."

"What is it?" Lucy asked, suddenly awake and very worried. She thought about what happened to Evergreen and Juvia and felt a chill settle in her bones. That couldn't happen way out here, could it? Natsu seemed to think so, or was afraid it was so.

"You two stay here," Natsu said, holding one hand out toward Lucy as he took a step toward the shadowy trees beyond the firelight. "I'm gonna go find out what's out there. Happy, look after Lucy. I should be back in a minute."

"Why am _I_ the one who needs looking after?!" Lucy cried, surprised and a little affronted that she was being put under the guard of a talking cat.

"Because I said so," said Natsu with a sudden ferocity, and Lucy was so shocked she backed off. "Just watch each other's backs, okay? I'll be right back."

"Aye, sir!"

"H-hai, Natsu."

Natsu threw the pair one last look, and Lucy thought she saw a glimmer of some unrecognizable emotion in her best friend's eyes before he turned and raced out of the firelight, following his sharp ears into the dark forest. Lucy and Happy exchanged a look and nodded once, the former standing and the latter extending his wings so they were back-to-back. Feeling assured at Happy's presence despite her earlier objection, Lucy got into a defensive stance, drawing her Fleuve d'étoiles and keeping one hand near her key ring in case she needed to summon a spirit.

After several seconds of standing thus in silence, Lucy said, "Happy, you know what's been bothering Natsu lately, don't you."

She couldn't see Happy, but Lucy felt him suddenly tense up behind her. "N-nani?!" he laughed, his voice much higher-pitched and shakier than usual. "What makes you think something's bothering him?"

"You know what," she replied, looking over her shoulder at the cat suspiciously. "I've noticed him having a lot of little freak-outs like the one he had earlier, and there was something else wrong with him just now. He's acting weird, and I don't mean his usual weird."

"H-he's just worried about the girls getting kidnapped from the guild!"

"That's only been going on the last couple of days, Happy! He's been hiding something from me for weeks now, and he never keeps secrets from me! Actually, I don't think Natsu keeps secrets at all!"

"Lucy, you're too paranoid!" said Happy nervously. "Honestly, there's nothing wrong with him."

"You're such a little liar! It's not something to do with me, is it?"

"Eh…"

"HAPPY!" Forgoing all thoughts of caution, Lucy whirled around and snatched the cat out of the air. "It _is_ about me, isn't it?!" she cried, pulling on Happy's cheeks. _"Spill it, cat!"_

"How-can-I-when-you're-pulling-my-face-!" Happy struggled to say through his constantly stretching mouth. Lucy changed tactics, grabbing the Exceed by his backpack and pulling him up so they were nose-to-nose.

"Happy. Tell. Me. _Now!"_ she snarled, sparks flying from her eyes as a dark, threatening aura enveloped her, and Happy wailed in fright.

Suddenly, Lucy stopped. Her eyes returned to normal, but the blue Exceed noticed they were now full of alarm. She dropped Happy, who opened his wings again and flew back up to her head level, and turned to stare into the forest opposite of where Natsu had gone, her eyes narrowed and her hand now clutching Taurus's key.

"There's something out there," she murmured. "I can sense dark magic."

"Maybe it's the sea witch who took Juvia!" exclaimed Happy in fright.

"Yeah, don't count on it, cat," Lucy replied sardonically, a tick mark appearing on her temple.

The campfire beside them suddenly flared up, causing Happy and Lucy to cry out in surprise, and then died, some invisible force diminishing the flames and casting the pair into semidarkness. Smoke from the fire curled up from the still smoldering logs, but then it did something very unnatural: it gathered in one spot, hovering above the fire pit at eye-level, and began to glow bright green. The light appeared to have no source as it floated lazily before them, a swirling ball of green mist the size of Happy's head that pulsed like a heartbeat.

"A green light…?" Lucy whispered, suddenly very frightened. Gray had said the Sea Witch had used a portal made of green light to take Juvia. Was she about to be next?!

Happy suddenly dropped down in front of Lucy, his back to her and his arms and wings spread out. "Don't worry, Lucy!" he declared resolutely, though his voice shook. "I'm not gonna let it touch you!"

Lucy and Happy stared at the light, unable to take their eyes away as they waited for it to do Zeref knew what: attack them, morph into a demon or monster, suck them away into one land of horror or another. After being in Fairy Tail for as long as they have, they were braced for anything. Several very tense seconds, however, before the ball did anything, and all it did was drift away from them, bobbing slowly around the trees and casting eerie shadows in the darkness.

"What was that?" asked Happy shakily. "Lucy, what do you thi- Lucy?!"

Lucy didn't respond. She had stepped around the cat and seemed to be following the light, her steps slow like she was walking through water. Her eyes were locked on it, her expression one of intense concentration while at the same time being vacant of all emotion, her lips closed and one eyebrow raised.

"Lucy, what are you doing? Where are you going?_ Lucy!"_

Happy glanced back at the woods where Natsu had disappeared. He still had not returned, but Happy had a feeling that if he waited for the Dragon Slayer to return, it would be too late. Lucy was already several yards away and still following the light. Happy remembered the worried, protective look Natsu had given her before leaving and, allowing that memory to reaffirm his resolve, Happy flew after her.

"Lucy! Stop!" he cried, flying around in front of his blond friend and trying to block her view of the green light. "Please, snap out of it!"

Still Lucy did not respond. She didn't even look at him; she seemed to see through him, her gaze encompassed by the light as she raised a hand and pushed Happy out of the way and continued her dreamlike trance. Her face was pale as death, the green light giving her a sickly tint, and other than the movement she made to push Happy away, her arms did not move, but hung slightly raised at her sides, like she was about to take flight. It was like she was sleepwalking. Or turned into a zombie. Neither option was good, but Happy hoped it was the sleepwalking.

Happy wasn't about to give up on his friend. He flew around her again and began to push against her chest with all his Exceed might, trying to stop her from moving further forward. "Please, Lucy!" he cried. "Wake up!"

Lucy's steps were halted and she teetered back from the force of Happy's push, but then she straightened and pushed him away again, never once acknowledging the cat or anything else around her. Happy wrapped his tail around Lucy's waist and pulled, beating his wings as hard and fast as he could, trying to yank her off course.

"NATSU!" he screamed. "Natsu, please, Lucy's in trouble! Wake up, Lucy, _wake up!"_

It was as though Happy wasn't there at all. Whatever force was pulling Lucy toward the green light seemed to be strong than the little blue cat, because she was still moving forward, dragging him right along with her. Happy was crying now, terrified of what would happen if he couldn't stop Lucy, if Natsu didn't show up in time, what would happen when they reached whatever destination the light was taking them to…

There was a cracking, groaning noise from behind him, and Happy looked over his shoulder to see what was happening. The ground around Lucy's feet seemed to be erupting as thorny black branches grew from it, reaching up toward Happy like spiky fingers. The blue cat doubled his efforts in pulling Lucy away, knowing deep down that the only way to escape the thorns was to let go and refusing to do so. The thorns missed Lucy and rose up like prison bars around Happy, and the Exceed cried out as he hit the barrier, the wicked barbs catching his fur and backpack and cutting his skin, some of the thorns stabbing into him like daggers. Despite the increasing pain and the sudden visions of getting cut to ribbons, Happy tried desperately to hold on, sobbing for Lucy to help him, but she was too deep under the light's spell. His tail felt as though it was going to get ripped right off his bottom and he could feel his grip slipping, but he continued to hold on. He couldn't let go of Lucy. He couldn't or else Lucy would be taken away, just like Juvia and Evergreen. He couldn't or else Natsu would be sad again, and so would he. Happy had seen the future Lucy's death as well, and even though he was usually the one comforting Natsu, who had definitely come out of the experience more damage, the poor Exceed had experienced fair his share of trauma from the event. He never wanted Lucy to go away, not alive nor in death. He had to be strong and brave! He had to save Lucy!

His tail, however, had other ideas.

Happy screamed as a loud _SNAP_ resounded from the base of his tail and agonizing pain shot up his spine. His tail had broken. He turned and watched in horror as Lucy slipped out of his grip, his tail dangling limply over the thorns as one of his best friends drifted slowly away, only her silhouette visible against the evil green light.

"NO! Lucy, please, listen to me! Come back! Help! Natsu! Anybody, please! _LUCY!"_

But it was no use. No one was coming, Happy had failed, and now he was forced to watch Lucy fade into the night, the green light preceding her all the way.

* * *

_Across the sky  
__I will come to you  
__If you ask me to  
__Demystify  
__Your uncommon dreams  
__Stranger things have come  
__(Across the sky)  
__Should we hear the silence?  
__Should we hear the noise?  
__(I will come for you)  
__I don't need this blind acceptance  
__I have made my choice  
__(If you ask me to)  
__(Demystify)  
__Light lives in the darkness  
__Beauty lives in pain  
__(Your uncommon dreams)  
__In destruction we may lose ourselves  
__But still I will remain  
__(Stranger things have come true)_

~ "Across the Sky" by Emilie Autumn

* * *

**A/N:** I dare all of you to go listen to that song while reading this. Seriously. That song is the most haunting, captivating thing I've heard in a looong time. It gave me chills.

I just broke Happy's tail. I'm not sure how I feel about what I have done here, but I just did it. OUCH. At least he was being heroic when it happened, I really think Happy doesn't get as much credit as he deserves, either.

I love diving into Natsu's mind and trying to dig up what might be lurking there. Like Juvia, I really don't think he's as much of an impulsive airhead as some people make him out to be, and like Juvia, I think his experience at the Grand Magic Games had a profound affect on him. NO ONE can simply watch their best friend DIE and come out of it with the same mindset, whether the person comes back or not. "There's never a guarantee of comin' back, but passing on, that's dead certain." That was a quote from Barbossa in _Pirates of the Caribbean 3_, by the way. Any Whovians out there catch the Doctor Who reference I made? Anyway, while it was actually kind of difficult to dig into Natsu's brain and see what might be going on in there. Like performing a lobotomy with his thoughts. He's not secretive, but he's not exactly an open book, either. He acts first and talks about it later, if ever, because his actions usually just speak for him, but he has his moments of profound thought, too. GOODNESS I love this boy. I hope I was right about him being 18? I had to guess. If anyone knows for sure that I'm wrong, let me know!

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Since this kidnapping is actually a bit more significant than the others - there are some important plot points reported here - it's going to be a bit longer than the previous three have been. Same with the next, and last, kidnapping to come. But I hope you guys still enjoy it! I personally can't WAIT for next week!

As always, I really appreciate your support in your reviews and follows/favorites! I love you guys so much, reading your reviews always warms my heart right up :D So please review!

I am most sincerely yours, dear readers,  
~Elodie Kumari

Thanks to the following for favoriting, following, and/or reviewing!

**Lolibeagle**: Thank you! And your avatar pic is super super cute :D  
**Wintergrape  
****NonsensicalCheshire  
****Cheerfullion95  
****Umeko-bby:** *cowers in a corner* OH NO DON'T KIDNAP ME URSULA I PROMISE I WON'T DISCONTINUE! Haha I love you too, dear reader! Thank you so much! :D  
**PenSketch  
****Lilangel25:** Here's your update! :D  
**1fangirl'Iliketrains  
****Pandachan:** well here's part of your answer! There's more to come in the next chap  
**TheGrammarQueen:** I FRICKIN' KNOW, RIGHT?! I hardly have words to describe how much I HATE that woman… and yeah I thought it would be interesting to have such an innocent little girl accidentally bring the world to ruin… sort of… that will be explained further later  
**Blumenwiese  
****MelsAnOtaku:** You were pretty close with your first theory! And I actually have an idea for something I can do later on in the story, I was already kind of toying with the idea but I definitely have a plan for it now! Poor Natsu XP You do have some great, albeit a little sadistic, theories going there, and I totally agree, Natsu and Lucy are AMAZING. Their bond is unlike anything I've seen in any other show/book/movie/anything EVER and I think it's just BEAUTIFUL and ADORABLE and it fills my heart with RAINBOWS AND KISSES AND BUTTERFLIES. Which is probably why I'm drawing their story out a little bit XP As for your theories about GaLe, you will definitely see what I've got in store for them soon! Thanks for the wonderful review and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :D  
**JERZA FTW  
****Guest:** Daaaaw thank you! :D  
**Starcounter58:** You have made a very fair point, I never did answer that question. And here's your answer: Juvia didn't use any magic because a) she couldn't while she was under the shell's spell (the shell belongs to Ursula, who cursed it), and b) While they were in the water, Gray was holding on to her with both hands and she was a bit preoccupied with her legs turning into a tail and whatnot. And no you are not misinterpreting, I'm definitely throwing a bit of Miraxus in here XD I've been toying with that and MiraXFreed for a while, but I think I may like Miraxus as a couple better. I can't decide XP thanks for the inquisitorial review and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
**NeonStrom  
****Fairytail08: **here's more! :D hope you enjoyed!  
**BlueFairy10:** hey you! I'm glad you like it! I very much enjoyed writing that bit you quoted about Gajeel, I'm glad you noticed! That will come into play a little bit later, though maybe not quite in the way you might think :P Here's a longer chapter for you! Thanks for the insightful review!


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Okay, I know it's not Sunday, but I hope you guys won't complain too much for me posting a chapter a little early XP My weekend is going to be a little crazy and I might not get the chance to type as much as this chapter required. Seriously, I started this at like 11:00 last night and didn't finish it until 3am this morning XP Anyway, tomorrow I'm going to be participating in a 5K Zombie Run, which basically means I'm going to be running 3.1 miles while being chased by zombies trying to infect me (we wear flags that they have to steal in order to infect runners). I'm not sure which I'm more worried about: the zombies or the distance XP either way it is most likely I will die.

With that in mind, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Let me know your reactions and thoughts in a review at the end if you are so inclined :) Please and thank you in advance!

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Health and Wisdom**

"Ow! Get off! Getoffgetoffgetoffgetoffowowowow_OW!_"

Natsu let out a shout as his flames engulfed the thorns surrounding him, but it was no use. For every plant he destroyed, more grew almost instantaneously in its place. What was with these plants?! It was like he was crowd surfing on hands made of barbed wire. Natsu couldn't waste time with this, he had to catch whoever he heard sneaking about and get back to Lucy and Happy!

At his wits end, Natsu sent a wave of flame through the nearest thorns and jumped up, grabbing a tree branch a few feet overhead and swinging himself up to stand on top of it before more thorns could grab him. _"Haha!" _he cackled triumphantly. "Try to catch me _now_, you nasty little-"

Natsu stopped. The thorns were growing even taller now, still reaching for him despite his new height. He heard a creaking, snapping noise behind him and turned to see the spiky branches wrapping around the trunk of his tree, creeping up toward his branch while the tree groaned in protest, swaying dangerously.

"_Crap!"_ Natsu shouted, leaping from his branch just before the barbs reached him and landing in another tree. The wave of thorns followed him and Natsu was forced to leap from tree to tree like a pink-haired chimpanzee on a wild goose chase. As he leapt from his seventh tree and, too late, discovered there weren't any more branches within reach, he knew this was his last chance.

"_FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!"_ Natsu flipped upside down and shot flames from his mouth to coat the forest floor. He could hear the roar of his dragon flames and smell the smoke and burned wood behind him as he hit the ground, summersaulting to his feet. He whipped around at a defensive crouch, his fists on fire and his eyes blazing, but it seemed as though his last trick had destroyed the thorns for good. Flames were still licking at the surrounding trees and shrubs, and Natsu quickly sucked the fire into his mouth, remembering what Lucy had said earlier about burning down an entire forest.

_Lucy!_

Natsu whirled around, realizing that where he stood was his, Happy's, and Lucy's campsite. He could still see their packs sitting around the now empty fire pit. But his two partners were nowhere in sight. Natsu suddenly felt as though he was back in the middle of the thorn attack, though this time it was panic that was threatening to engulf him.

"LUCY!" Natsu yelled at the top of his lungs. "HAPPY! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?!"

That was when Natsu heard it: a muffled sort of wail, like a child crying. "Happy!" Natsu gasped, and he raced through the forest in the direction of the sound. It wasn't long until he found his little buddy buried so deeply in a tower of thorns, he was barely visible.

"_Happy!"_

"N-Natsu!" Happy sobbed, peering through the thorns at his best friend. He tried to shift his head to get a better view, but every movement made the thorns cut him deeper, and he cried out in pain.

"Don't worry little buddy, I'll get you out of there!" Natsu grabbed the plants by their roots and pulled them out of the ground with a shout, burning them to ashes as he yanked them apart. Now free but too injured to fly, Happy fell, and Natsu caught him. "Are you alright? What happened?"

Happy curled up against Natsu's chest, his broken tail hanging limply over the Dragon Slayer's arm, and cried like a baby. "N-Natsu… gomen'nasai… I t-tried to stop her…"

Natsu went rigid. "Stop who? What happened? Happy, _where's Lucy?!_"

Happy looked up at Natsu, his eyes huge and overflowing with fear, guilt, and tears. "T-there was this b-ball of light... it s-showed up right after y-you left… put L-Lucy under some sort of spell… and s-she followed it… I t-tried to stop her, but… but…"

Happy eyes travelled down to his tail, which Natsu now noticed was hanging at a strange angle and was a little too limp than natural. It was then that the Fire Dragon Slayer realized he had been tricked. The person Natsu had heard early had led him away from the camp and into those thorns in order to distract him while Lucy was taken in the opposite direction. Fear and anger flashed dangerously in his onyx eyes as he leapt to his feet, still cradling Happy in his arms, and flared his nostrils, catching Lucy's scent through the mist of smoke that still hung over the forest.

"Happy, I hate to ask this of you since you're injured, but do you think you could ride on my shoulder?"

"H-Hai," Happy whimpered. "I think I can manage it." As Natsu helped the Exceed onto his back, Happy asked, "Are you going after her, Natsu?"

"Absolutely," Natsu growled. "I'm willing to be whoever took her is with the people who took Juvia and Evergreen. And I've already lost Lucy once. I'm not gonna lose her again!"

* * *

_Green._

Lucy's world was engulfed in it. Just green. It was all she could see. All she could hear. It was all she knew. It was all she needed. She needed the green. She needed it to stay, to never go away, because if it did, terrible, terrible things would happen. She was safe… as long as… _green…_

Suddenly, something else appeared in the green just in front of her. It frightened Lucy at first. It wasn't green. But it had the same aura as the green. Lucy relaxed again. The green told her it wasn't dangerous. It was just a spinning wheel. She had nothing to fear from it. But she had to touch it. She had to touch her finger to the point of the spindle on the wheel. She had to poke it hard enough to draw blood. She had to do it or else bad things would happen. Lucy stretched out her hand, trusting the green, knowing it had never led her astray before…

"_Lucy!"_

Lucy hesitated. That voice wasn't green. But it was important. It was more than important, it was familiar… she recognized it… no, she _loved_ it…

"_Lucy! Where are you, Luce?! Wait for me, I'm comin'!"_

Lucy pulled her hand back from the spindle. She trusted _that_ voice. She trusted it more than the green. She _needed _it more than the green. She need to go to that voice… needed to find…

_Touch the spindle,_ the green told her, the soothing voice both seductive and resounding. _Touch it, I say!_

But a new voice, a third voice, had surfaced in Lucy's mind, recalled from a distant memory, forgotten until this point in time. Her mother's voice, the way she had spoken at night when reading her daughter a bedtime story.

'_Listen well, all of you! The princess shall indeed grow in grace and beauty, beloved by all who know her. But… before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday, she shall prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel… and die!'_

"_Lucy! DON'T TOUCH __**ANYTHING!**__"_

At Natsu's last cry, Lucy screamed, and the spell broke. There was a flash of green, an enraged voice shrieked, _"NO!"_ and Lucy fell back with a painful smack on something rough and hard. She was in complete darkness. There was absolutely no light anywhere. The lingering traces of the spell still leaving her mind caused her to panic because the green was gone, but she now realized that green light had almost brought her to her demise. But now she couldn't see anything. She couldn't see the spinning wheel, had no way of knowing if it was still there, or if there were thousands of others surrounding whatever space she was in, their spindles waiting to prick her finger and put her into the enchanted sleep she had grown up hearing about in fairy tales. Lucy had no way of knowing if the enemy who had cast the spell was standing above her, preparing to strike her down with a power that didn't require a spinning wheel…

"No, no, no," Lucy stammered, trying to control her breathing. She was practically hyperventilating from panic. "Calm down, calm down, calm down, Lucy, you can't panic, that won't help anything…"

But she stayed on the ground, not moving an inch in case there was something close by that could hurt her. No amount of self-coaching and assurance could calm her racing heart or stop her vivid imagination from envisioning the horrors that could be lurking in the shadows. Lucy closed her mouth and took deep breaths through her nose, trying to think logically. What did she know? She needed to focus on facts, not throw herself into hysterics over the unknown. _Think, Lucy, think!_

Lucy slowly turned her hands so the palms were pressed against the surface she was lying on, spreading her fingers to get a feel of the texture. It was cold, rough, and slightly damp. Rock. Lucy took another slow breath through her nostrils. The air was musty and humid and had a slightly moldly smell, like rotting vegetation. Lucy concluded that she must be in a cave, which would also explain the darkness. How did she get here? What had happened before the green light had overtaken her mind?

She'd been in a forest… there was a campfire, put out by dark magic… Happy, wailing in fright at her scary side just before trying to shield her from whatever evil was approaching… Natsu, giving her that strange, fleeting look of trepidation before running off into the woods… Natsu…

That was when it hit her. This was exactly what had happened to Evergreen and Juvia. They'd been lead away by dark magic and kidnapped by mages taking on the form of fairy tale villains. It was happening again, but this time, Lucy was the target.

That revelation did not help Lucy's nerves.

Lucy wanted to cry, to scream, to call for Natsu, whose voice she knew she had just heard moments before, but she was too scared of what could be lurking in the shadows to utter a single noise. She felt like she was choking as she forced herself to stay silent, tears rolling down her cheeks and into her hair. Her body was shaking from both fear and cold, and she felt a pang of longing for Natsu's warm presence, remembering how comfortable and safe she had felt riding on his back a billion years ago. She knew Natsu was coming for her, but she couldn't just lie here and wait for him to come. Anxiety and panic would drive her insane before he could even come close, and she had no idea what obstacles he might have come across back in the forest. If only she had some source of light, some way of knowing what sort of traps were lying in wait around her… if only there was someone who could…

Lucy exhaled very sharply and closed her eyes in irritation. She could have smacked herself. Was she a mage or not?! She didn't need to wait for Natsu when she had her one private army awaiting her command on her key ring! Lucy slowly slid her hand across the rocky floor toward her belt, where she fumbled for a moment before locating her key ring. Identifying the keys by their shape, Lucy clasped her hands around the one she needed and cleared her dry throat.

"_Open, Gate of the Lion: Leo!"_ she proclaimed in a hoarse whisper.

A golden light appeared directly over Lucy's head, and Lucy watched as it grew, took the shape of a man, and into view faded a black suit, a pair of glasses, a spiky mane of sand colored hair…

"You rang?"

"_Loke!"_

Lucy nearly sobbed out loud as Loke held out his hand to her. She immediately took it, no longer afraid, and he pulled her up, his own feet alighting on the ground as he pulled her into a tight embrace. "Lucy," Loke said gruffly, "I'm so, so sorry. All of us Celestial Spirits tried to come to your aid, but whatever magic was in that green light kept us from opening our gates."

"It's okay," Lucy responded, knotting her fists into the back of his jacket. Loke was no Natsu, but Lucy needed someone to hold her for a moment as she calmed herself down.

"No, it's not," Loke insisted. "If you hadn't broken free… if you had touched that spindle…"

Lucy shook her head against his shoulder. "Don't worry about that. I didn't touch the spindle and I broke free of the spell. Now what I need to do is get out of here and find Natsu and Happy. Can you help me with that?"

Loke nodded and Lucy stepped back, though he kept his arms around her waist. They both looked around, finally able to see their surroundings in the bright gold aura the Celestial Spirit was still giving off. Lucy had been right about being in a cave, though now that she could see it, it was more of a stone box than anything else. The spindle was nowhere in sight, and Lucy and Loke were surrounded by four stone walls that created a space no larger than the bathroom in Lucy's apartment. How in the heck had she gotten in here?!

"How are we going to get out?" Lucy asked.

"Leave that to me," declared Loke determinedly, pulling Lucy tight to his side as he raised on hand to the nearest wall, gathering golden light into his palm. _"Regulus Impact!"_

Loke closed his hand into a fist, and the light shot like a cannonball toward the wall, busting it wide open. Lucy held a hand in front of her face to block out the dust and debris that blew over her as the stifling air suddenly came alive, blowing through the cave and enveloping her in the familiar smell of a forested night. As Loke's light diminished, the softer grey glow of moonlight replaced it, and Lucy breathed a sigh of relief.

Still keeping a tight hold on each other, Loke and Lucy peered out through the hole the Celestial Spirit had made in the wall and saw a moonlight clearing laid out before them. The circular area was about as big as the main room in the guild hall, the only thing interrupting the smooth field of grass being a rather knarled looking tree directly in the center of the clearing.

"It looks clear," Loke murmured, "but stay on guard and stick close to me. I can still sense an evil magic presence."

Loke carefully lead Lucy out through the hole, but Lucy's eyes were glued to the tree. It was smaller than the oaks that lined the clearing, and its branches spread out wider. She could see dense round shapes hanging amongst the leaves, and she felt a wave of foreboding roll over her.

"Loke," she whispered, "_please _don't tell me that's an apple tree."

Loke frowned at the tree. "It looks like it is. Why, is that bad-"

"Well, this simply won't do."

A loud shriek sounded through the darkness overhead, and Lucy whirled around just in time to see the biggest, ugliest crow she had ever seen swoop down and dive bomb through Loke's head. The Spirit of the Lion shouted in pain and fell back, dissolving into golden dust before he had even hit the ground.

"No! _Loke!"_ Lucy screamed, her hand outstretched toward him, but he was already gone. There was a loud, hacking wheeze that could have passed for laughter, and Lucy whipped around to see an old woman – a wrinkled, warty old woman with a withered and bowed body wrapped in a black cloak – step out from behind the apple tree. Strings of scraggly grey hair like chunks of wire hung out from underneath the woman's hood as she sneered at Lucy over a large hooked nose, her round, bloodshot eyes full of cruelty. The crow sat on her hunched shoulders and a woven basket swung on her shriveled arm. The basket was loaded to the brim with apples.

"_No,"_ Lucy gasped.

"Tut, tut, dearie," the old woman chirped, waggling a long, spindly finger at her as she approached. "You should know better. You can't have two handsome princes sweep in and save the damsel. That is against the rules. You must only have one."

Lucy opened her mouth to ask the woman who she was, but she already knew the answer. She knew the story. Everyone did. Deciding this was not the time for introductions, Lucy lunged for her keys.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the old hag warned cheerfully. "Not if you want our hero to keep his life."

Lucy froze just as she was about to pull Taurus's key off her ring. "What have you done with Natsu?"

"Nothing yet, dearie," the hag replied. "I don't want to kill him. I need him to play his part in our little fairy tale before I snuff out his pathetic existence. But if you don't comply with me, I might rethink my choice."

The woman was approaching with surprising swiftness, and Lucy backtracked, trying to maintain the distance between them, forgetting there was a stone trap behind her…

But instead of her ankles hitting the edge of the hole Loke had created in the stone box, Lucy's back hit something cold, flat, and very smooth. Jumping forward and spinning around, Lucy saw… herself. Lucy's jaw dropped. So did the other Lucy's. Lucy squinted at herself, and her other self copied her. That was when Lucy realized she was staring at a reflection. Floating in the middle of the hole in the cave wall was a long, rectangular mirror with an ornate gold frame. Glancing behind the mirror, Lucy noticed that the box she had been trapped was set in the side of a mountain, which was on the edge of a range that Lucy knew split the forest in half. But the camp she had made with Natsu and Happy had been miles away from the mountains. _How…_

Something flickered in the mirror, and Lucy glanced back at the reflection in the glass. She forced back a scream. The old hag was still walking up behind her, but now her body was changing, coming out of its hideous disguise. Her form straightened and elongated, becoming willowy and almost graceful, and the folds of skin that hung from her frame smoothed and went from deadened grey to olive green. The large eyes narrowed and turned pale yellow. The hood of the cloak fell back, revealing a black, double-horned headdress on top of the woman's head, and the cloak itself seemed to stretched and flex like a living thing, purple material lining the inside and the edges like silky flames and the hood becoming a high collar around her long, slender neck. The crow remained on her shoulder during the whole process, cawing and flapping its wings, and the basket of apples turned into a long staff with a green orb set at the top. By the time the woman had stopped alongside Lucy, the transformation was complete, and Lucy forced her eyes to move from the reflection to the real thing towering beside her, immediately recognizing her from her childhood story book.

"Maleficent," she whispered in terror.

Maleficent gave her an imperial smirk, her narrowed eyes, the lids of which were dusted deep purple, speaking of wicked dreams full of evil deeds as her dark red lips pursed smugly. Lucy's voice abandoned her as her body seized up in fear. The only part of her that seemed to be working properly was her heart, which was trying frantically to bust a hole through her ribcage and escape this nightmare. Lucy had assumed before that the old hag was the Evil Queen, and now that she was face to face with this woman, who was known as one of the most terrifying, merciless, and evil fairy tale villains of all time, she desperately wished she had been right.

Maleficent gave a low chuckle from the back of her throat, raising a finger to stroke the head of her bird before turning to the mirror and throwing up her hands. "Slave in the Magic Mirror," she said in a clear, assertive voice that Lucy immediately recognized from the green light's spell, "come from the farthest space! Through wind and darkness I summon thee! _Speak!_ Let me see thy face!"

As the sorceress cast her spell, a roaring wind ripped through the mirror, and with a crack of lightning and a burst of flame, Lucy's and Maleficent reflection vanished and were replaced by a single white, almost bored face like a mask floating in a column of smoke. "What wouldst thou know, Your Excellency?" the mirror asked in a monotone voice.

Lucy glanced at Maleficent out of the corner of her eye, more than a little confused at this turn of events, but once she saw the villain looking directly at her, she quickly looked away. "Well, my dear," Maleficent purred, sweeping one clawed hand out in front of her, "I believe you know the next line."

Lucy's eyes flickered back to the enchantress once as she swallowed hard. Squaring her shoulders, she cleared her throat and managed to croak, "M-mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?"

The face in the mirror gave her a look that clearly asked her if she could really be this stupid and replied in the same melancholy tone, "With hair of sunshine gold and lips red as the rose, there is none more beautiful than thee, Miss Lucy Heartfilia."

Lucy swallowed again. Never in her life had she felt this terrible after receiving such a compliment. Nor had she ever heard such words delivered like a death sentence.

"The mirror may be over exaggerating slightly," crooned Maleficent mockingly, raising her hand to Lucy's head and picking up a long strand of her blonde hair that hung loose from her pigtails, "but he is still right. You are quite the beauty, aren't you, dear?"

"Don't touch me," Lucy hissed, flinching away from the witch's hand. Maleficent let out another quiet, yet deadly laugh. Deciding this would be the best time to get some answers, Lucy continued, "Are you with the Wicked Stepmother who took Evergreen and the Sea Witch who took Juvia?"

"You could say that," Maleficent replied. "But you have forgotten Shan Yu the Hun, who just last night abducted Jellal Fernandes."

"_Jellal?!"_ Lucy gasped, so shocked she actually turned and looked Maleficent in the face. Why would they take Jellal? He wasn't even in Fairy Tail, and weren't these people after girls, anyway? Just what in Earthland was going on?!

Maleficent smirked. "Indeed. Shan Yu is very much looking forward to meeting the young heroine Erza Scarlet in a battle for his life. It should make quite the entertaining story. You would agree, seeing as you aspire to be a novelist yourself."

Hearing Maleficent speak of Erza that way firmed Lucy's resolve. She stared Maleficent right in the eye, burying her fear deep beneath the anger now burning inside her. "So that is what you're doing?" she demanded, her voice shaking with rage. "Kidnapping people to use as bait, luring others into your twisted plots just because you find it _entertaining?_"

Maleficent's smirk widened to show teeth, but her eyes were like poison as they burned a hole through Lucy's soul. "Oh, believe me, dear, there is much more to this story than what you see. But why reveal the climax so early in the story line? You and the rest of your wizard guild, as well as the entire country, will see our true purpose soon enough. Besides, you should be thanking me. Isn't it every girl's dream to have their favorite fairy tale come true?"

Deciding to ignore the sickening question, Lucy demanded, "So what now? Are you going to try and take me?"

Maleficent's eyes glittered unpleasantly as she reached a hand beneath the sleeve of her cloak. "I will do more than try, Lucy Heartfilia. I will succeed."

From the folds of her cloak Maleficent pulled a plump, juicy, perfect red apple.

"What is _that?"_ Lucy asked, though she already knew the dreadful answer.

"Just a morsel," Maleficent replied, holding up the apple to admire the way the blood red skin glowed in the moonlight. "Did you know that apples stand for health and wisdom?"

"So why do I get the feeling that one will put me under a sleeping curse?" Lucy demanded, her voice cracking apprehensively.

Maleficent's smile was the most evil thing Lucy had ever seen, and she had looked into the face of darkness multiple times before now. "Because it will. You know how the story goes, Miss Heartfilia."

Lucy nodded once, clenching her fists to hide her shaking. "And you're going to force me to eat it, right?"

Maleficent tutted once. "Of course not. It wouldn't work, anyway. The choice is yours. It must be taken willingly."

"And _why_ would I do that?" Lucy cried.

"Because if you refuse the apple," Maleficent declared, "Your prince… your precious Dragon Slayer… will be killed."

Lucy's breath caught in her throat. _"No."_

Maleficent laughed again and turned to the mirror. "Magic mirror on the wall, show me the bravest of them all."

The surface of the mirror shimmered, like ripples over water, and a new image appeared in the glass as if curtains had been pulled back from a window. There was Natsu, his clothes torn and every inch of exposed skin covered in scrapes, running through a stone tunnel with an equally bedraggled Happy clinging to his shoulder.

"Lucy!" Natsu shouted, his voice echoing through not just the cave, but through the mirror as well. "Lucy, where are ya?!"

"Lucy!" called Happy pleadingly.

"_Natsu!"_ Lucy cried, reaching out to him only to have her fingers crash into glass.

"That is quite the remarkable young prince you have there, Miss Heartfilia," Maleficent observed. "Always coming to your rescue, loyal and brave and true to the end. First with Phantom Lord, then again with the Infinity Clock, and most recently in the Grand Magic Games. And now, here he is, coming to save his princess once again. He must love you very dearly, even if the fool himself does not realize it."

How did Maleficent know all of this? Part of Lucy wanted to argue that she and Natsu didn't have that kind of relationship, but the words stuck in her throat as she pressed her fingers to the glass, the pang of longing going through her quickly followed by a thrill of fear of what Maleficent had in store for her best friend.

"Look into the shadows, Miss Heartfilia. Do you see the danger your dear prince is in?"

Lucy's gaze quickly followed Maleficent's finger, and her heart nearly failed her at what she saw. There was a hulking figure following Natsu, hiding in the shadows, dressed in what looked like animal skins and wielding a very large, very sharp looking ax.

"The Huntsman," Lucy breathed.

"Yes," said Maleficent satisfactorily. "You will eat this apple, Lucy Heartfilia, or you will watch as my faithful servant cuts down Natsu Dragneel."

Lucy couldn't make sense of anything. The spinning wheel, the crow, the old hag, Maleficent, the apple, the Huntsman… none of it was making sense! "I-I thought you said you needed him alive!"

"I also said I might change my mind if you do not cooperate," Maleficent reminded her. "And while it is true that, for my plan to work effectively, you and Sir Dragneel would be most suited subjects, I can easily find someone just as fitting should you refuse me. Your friends Mirajane Strauss and Laxus Dreyar, for instance. Or I thought I sensed a little romance starting to grow between little Wendy Marvell and Romeo Conbolt. Would you really risk their lives along with that of your Dragon Prince?"

Lucy felt sick to her stomach. It wasn't good enough for Maleficent to threaten just Natsu and Happy, but she had to go for Mira and poor Wendy, too?! "You're greatly underestimating Natsu if you think a guy with an ax can take him down," Lucy declared, trying to sound brave while also trying to not throw up.

"But that man with the ax is enhanced with my power, dear. Do you really want to take the risk of losing him? Then again," Maleficent added in a whisper, lowering her head to whisper in Lucy's ear, "maybe it would be fitting for him to die. Then maybe you will finally come to know the pain you have put him through."

"_What?"_ Lucy choked. Maleficent merely smirked, but she may as well have reached into Lucy's chest and crushed her heart into dust. That was it. That was what had been bothering Natsu this whole time. His random fits, the way he dodged any inquiry she made about his behavior, the fleeting looks she would catch him giving her… it was all because of what happened at the Grand Magic Games. Because he had seen her future self die.

_Oh, Natsu…_

Lucy felt tears spark in her eyes as she watched her closest friend sprint through the maze within the mountain, searching for her, unaware of the danger lurking just behind him. He'd gone through so much to protect her, and he never let her down. If she took the apple, his efforts would be in vain. He would suffer just as he had back at the games. She couldn't leave him in pain like that… but if she refused…

"I take that apple and he lives," said Lucy. "That's the deal you want to make?"

Maleficent smiled. "With all my heart."

Lucy turned and faced Maleficent again. She couldn't do it. She couldn't give in to Maleficent's games. She wouldn't become another pawn, another plot twist in this sickening storyline these villains were dreaming up for Zeref knew what reason. Natsu would deal with the Huntsman and rescue her, and then they would go and warn the others in the guild. It would all work out, just like it always did. She couldn't let herself be taken, couldn't let Natsu suffer the way he'd already suffered and could possibly still be suffering, the way Gray, Elfman, and now Erza were also suffering…

But what if – _what if_ – Natsu was defeated by the Huntsman? The fact that the Dragon Slayer hadn't sensed the man's presence by now was already a bad omen. And she hadn't been the only one to receive a huge scare from the appearance of her future self at the GMG. Lucy had seen in her future self how much it would hurt her for Natsu to die; the future Lucy's expressions then were nearly identical to the looks Natsu sometimes gave the present Lucy now. She couldn't risk causing Natsu's death after already bearing that burden once…

No. This wasn't the time for selfish and negative thoughts. Natsu wouldn't be killed by the Huntsman. No matter what power that man held, Natsu was stronger. He was always stronger. He would survive…

_But what if he didn't?_

But Natsu wasn't the only one at risk, here. Maleficent had implied that if it wasn't her, then Mirajane or Wendy or someone else in the guild would be targeted. There was also the matter of Evergreen, Juvia, and Jellal, who had already fallen victim to these witch traps. Would Lucy go wherever they were being kept if she took the apple? If she found them… no, Lucy doubted she would be of much help to them. By the sound of it, Evergreen was now a servant girl, Juvia was stuck in an ocean with a mermaid tail, and who knew what tortures this Shan Yu person had in store for Jellal. Lucy wouldn't even be awake wherever she was taken. The apple would put her under a sleeping spell… a spell that could only be broken by one… just one thing…

Slowly, without breaking eye contact with the sorceress, Lucy took the apple. "Then congratulations," she said in a surprisingly calm voice. "You've won."

Maleficent bore her teeth in a satisfied grin as Lucy, keeping up a carefully crafted poker face and still not looking away from those vile yellow eyes, lifted the apple to her lips and bit into it, feelings the skin slide over her teeth as she bit into the fruit's poisoned flesh. She chewed once, and groaned as she felt the poison already taking hold, groaning and clutching her stomach with her other hand. She suddenly found herself unable to breathe. A strange sensation sunk into her limbs as though her blood cells were solidifying, slowing down her bloodstream. She could no longer move her body. She couldn't even feel it. Even though her vision began to fog over, she could still clearly see the expression of almost greedy satisfaction on Maleficent's face as she watched her spell take hold. Inexplicably, Lucy heard her mother's voice again, this time from a different story:

"_Dip the apple in the brew.  
__Let the Sleeping Death seep through.  
__Look! On the skin!  
__The symbol of what lies within.  
__Now, turn red, to tempt Snow White,  
__To make her hunger for a bite.  
__When she breaks the tender peel,  
__To taste the apple in my hand,  
__Her breath will still, her blood congeal,  
__Then I'll be fairest in the land!"_

_Gomen, Natsu,_ Lucy thought as her eyes fell shut and her legs buckle beneath her. _I leave this in your hands. Please… come find me… Natsu…_

* * *

_Someday, my prince will come.  
__Someday, we'll meet again.  
__And away to his castle we'll go,  
__To be happy forever, I know. _

_Someday, when spring is here,  
__We'll find our love anew,  
__And the birds will sing,  
__And wedding bells will ring,  
__Someday when my dreams come true._

~"Someday My Prince Will Come" by Adriana Caselotti in _Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs_

* * *

**A/N:** Someone please shoot me for using this song in the story. PLEASE. Ugh, I hate that song. Actually, I just hate Disney's version of Snow White. Sorry for any enthusiasts who are out there, but Snow White has to be my least favorite Disney Princess. But I did liked the idea of using Snow White for Lucy, though she rather looks more like Aurora from _Sleeping Beauty_, and since they both involve sleeping curses, I decided to combine the two and turn them into this big pile of mess. And while I don't like the way 1950's or whatever Disney portrayed Snow White, I do rather like the story. Especially ABC's _Once Upon a Time_ version of her story - I LOVE that Snow White! - which is why I used that version of taking the apple instead of Disney's.

I feel really really evil and malicious during these first few chapters. I thought my dark side had revealed itself when I took Juvia from Gray, but then I broke Happy's tail and knew that was my true darkness. I still feel really guilty about doing that. Not even this chapter, with all its praise for Maleficent (who is THE BEST Disney villain of ALL TIME in my opinion) and the way I torture Lucy, feels as wicked as what I did to Happy. Although the chapter after this is going to come close...

All writers are evil, okay? I feel like I'm going to know exactly how evil once I finally get my copy of _Allegiant_. The things people have been saying... I'm kinda scared XP

Miraxus and RoWen, anyone? And Maleficent does NOT ship LoLu XD I love giving these super villains Fairy Tail OTP's!

Anywho, here's this chapter! I know I'm making the NaLu section of the story rather long, but I figured, since Lucy's a major bookworm and has read all the fairy tales, it would be harder for her to be taken. Plus there were some important foreshadowing points I wanted to be brought up in this chapters. And this makes it a little more exciting than just the quick what-the-heck-just-happened kidnappings that have happened previously, doesn't it? Anyway, it will be over after this next chapter. In fact, the kidnappings themselves are almost over, and then we can start going into further plot details!

I hope you guys are enjoying this story, and thank you for sticking with it so for! If you're just going through this story for the first time, I hop you like it and will consider following and/or favoriting it! I also love reviews, so if you have any thoughts on this chapter or what might be coming next, please let me know! I love you guys!

Sincerely,  
~Elodie

Thanks to the following for Favoriting, Following, and/or Reviewing!

**TheGrammarQueen**: Haha don't worry their time is coming! And yeah I think ElfEver is definitely a more underappreciated ship :P

**Erza Scarlet Fairy Tail**: Haha it's okay I totally understand! And I'm glad you think I did the right thing, sorry Jellal XD

**Umeko-bby**: you're welcome, dearie! :D

**Lolibeagle**: Yes I did remember that, actually! I very recently watched that arc again. (And that 'someone else' you're thinking of if Juvia I think lol) It makes me really wonder about Natsu and Gajeel. At first I thought it was the same way with all the Dragon Slayers, but I looked on the wikia and no Wendy, Sting, and Rogue all have ages. Hmmmmmm Mashima what exactly are you planning here?!


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Hello minna-san! Here's the normal Sunday update! I thought I might as well still post today cuz a) Sunday is my relaxing day anyway, and b) this one isn't as long as the last one so I don't think it's an overload, though it's still a decent length. This chapter is pretty painful though... the things I do to poor Natsu... fortunately, with the way I've got the story planned, there shouldn't be another completely heart-wrenching chapter for a while. But anyway, here's this big dose of feels for your week! Enjoy! :P

P.S. Any of you manga readers have any opinions to share about the most recent chapter?! I'm scared to death for Jellal right now, since he too is a former member of the council and Mashima has revealed his true side of not being afraid to kill characters o.O I'd love to talk to someone about this if anyone is willing!

* * *

**Chapter Twelve: Shattered**

"Natsu!" Happy exclaimed as Natsu gasped and abruptly stopped running. "Are you okay?"

"_Gah!"_ Natsu winced, hunched over and clutching his stomach. He felt as though he had been punched, or a hand had twisted his stomach into knots. He had no idea what caused it, but he had a feeling it wasn't something physical, like something he ate. The dread and panic that had been lurking in the dark corners of his mind shoved its way to the forefront of his senses, and for several moments, Natsu couldn't breathe. _Lucy._

"I think something's happened," Natsu said hoarsely. "We've gotta hurry!"

Natsu took off at a run again, faster than before as his renewed fear gave him a burst of energy. He charged up and down slopes and took sharp corner after sharp corner at full speed, sometimes having to jump or kick himself off a wall in order to avoid crashing. His sharp night vision allowed him to see almost perfectly even in the complete darkness. He could still catch Lucy's scent on the dank still air, though it was heavily polluted with dark magic. He had to find her. He had to find her _now_, before-

"No!" Natsu shouted as he turned a corner and found himself at a dead end. He'd been following Lucy's scent through his maze of mountainside tunnels for what felt like years, but he still hadn't managed to find her! And now this?! "_No!_ She has to be here!"

"Could they have already gone?" Happy whimpered fearfully, but Natsu refused to even consider the possibility. Running over to the wall, Natsu put his hands flat against it and gave it a push. It didn't budge, of course, but Natsu was able to recognize that this wasn't a natural part of the cave. It wasn't as thick as the surrounding cave walls, and it didn't have as sturdy a foundation. Running his hands around the edges and corners, Natsu thought he felt a discernible crack between the cave and the wall, just barely big enough to slide a sheet of paper through. This wasn't a wall. It was a door. And Natsu's gut was telling him Lucy was on the other side.

"Get down, Happy," Natsu growled, carefully setting his friend down on the ground near the far wall and backing up as far as the tunnel would allow. "I'm bustin' right through it!"

"But- Natsu!" Happy cried, covering his head with his arms as Natsu started to charge full speed ahead at the barrier. His entire body was coated in dragon flames and his expression was one of demonic determination as, with a growl that grew into a roar, he leapt forward and straight up head-butted the wall, punching a hole straight through the middle of the wall as if it was made of paper. The hole cracked and expanded until the entire wall came crashing down, filling the tunnel with dust and debris. Happy coughed and shook the dust out of his fur as best as he could before getting to his feet and running over to the gap, his broken tail sliding over the ground behind him.

"Way to go, Natsu!" Happy cheered. "That's the way to use your head!"

Natsu, who had been buried beneath the rubble, suddenly burst out of it, still covered from the waist down. "KYAAA!" he cried, clutching his head with both hands. "MAN, That's gonna hurt later!" _But later will have to wait_, he thought as he stood and clambered out of the rock pile, shaking rocks out of his hair and pants. First thing's first: gotta find Lucy!

Natsu looked up, suddenly aware of the light now filtering into the cave. Lucy's smell was much stronger in here and was now mixed with a scent he immediately recognized as Loke's. He was what used to be a small, box-shaped room, and in the wall just opposite the one Natsu had broken down was a second hole he knew hadn't been his doing. This hole lead outside. Hope leapt in Natsu's chest; had Lucy managed to escape with the help of her spirits?

"Happy, there's a way out!" Natsu called back, running through the opening. "Lucy! Are you out here_aaAAAH!_"

Natsu had stepped on something and slipped, landing flat on his back and almost cracking his head on the cave wall. He sat up, trying to blink away the white lights dancing in his eyes, and looking ahead, he saw the thing that had tripped him: it was an apple, much bigger and more red than any apple Natsu had ever seen, and it was still rolling away from him, bouncing along the ground like a ball. As Natsu's onyx eyes followed it, he noticed there was already a bite taken out of it. The apple only came to a stop when it hit something long and black, which was coiled on the ground like a snake. It was the edge of a cloak. The black and purple material pooled over the grass as if made of liquid, rising up in the middle to dress the person wearing it, and Natsu's gaze followed it upward until he could see the person's olive green face.

"Good evening, Natsu Dragneel," Maleficent said smugly. "We meet at last."

Natsu blinked. "Who the heck are you?"

The witchy lady made an irritated noise, her face twisting into a rather ugly glare as the crow on her shoulder squawked indignantly. Natsu thought she looked weird with her long staff and her funny headdress that rather reminded him of the horns he had donned when he masqueraded as the Great Demon Lord Dragneel back in Edolas. And what was wrong with her skin color? Was she sick? She smelled wrong, too. She was standing beneath the brambles of an apple tree that stood in the center of the clear, and Natsu's sharp eyes quickly noticed the mirror with a ghostly white face floating in the glass leaning up against the trunk behind her.

Natsu clambered to his feet. "Sorry, lady, but I don't have time to chat, I'm lookin' for someone. Maybe you've seen her? She's about this tall, has blonde pigtails, a big chest, and a whip on her belt? Have you seen anyone like that?"

"_Caw!"_ the crow seemed to gasp as Maleficent's jaw dropped. The face in the mirror rolled its hollow black eyes and muttered, "Well, at least we know who isn't the _smartest_ of them all."

"Natsu."

Natsu turned and saw Happy standing in the opening of the cave. The blue cat was giving the Dragon Slayer a very exasperated look as he pointed one paw at the horned woman. "I think she's the person who took Lucy," he said bluntly. "The orb in her staff has the same green light that Lucy was following in it."

_"Heh?!"_ Natsu shouted, whirling around to the witch again. He snarled and cracked his knuckles. "Ya know, now that I smell ya, I think you were behind those thorns earlier, too! In that case, _Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"_

Natsu lunged toward the enchantress with fists a-flamin', but a large shadow rammed into him from the side with Elfman-like force and sent him tumbling off course. Natsu rolled onto his feet and prepared to attack again, but before he could even focus on his target, a bolt of green lightning crashed into him. This lightning was different than other magic lightning Natsu had experienced; this one burned him like poison, and he cried out in pain, his muscles seizing up as he fell back onto the grass.

"Natsu!" Happy screamed. Natsu tried to raise his head, but the weird electricity was still surging through him. He could barely move a muscle. Groaning and gasping, Natsu struggled to sit up as Maleficent glared at him from her spot by the tree.

"You poor, simple fool, thinking you could defeat me! ME! Maleficent, the mistress of all evil!"

"You… took Lucy… and hurt… Happy!" Natsu snarled, finally managing to push himself up to a sitting position, glaring at Maleficent with one eye open. "Of course… I'll defeat you!"

Maleficent smirked triumphantly at the weakened fire mage. "You're still searching for your beloved Lucy, then? Well, look no more, Natsu Dragneel! _Here_ is your precious princess!"

Natsu watched as Maleficent gathered the end of her cloak in one hand and pulled it back with a dramatic flourish, revealing Lucy. She was lying on the ground as if she had fallen there, completely still and lifeless as a doll. Her eyes were closed, her face empty and pale, her blonde hair out of their usual pigtails and fanning out around her head. There was no breath. There was no heartbeat. Just stillness.

Natsu's breath hitched in his throat. He felt like someone was choking him. Time seemed to stop, the world around Natsu becoming sluggish and distant, like he was seeing it through murky water. The only thing he could clearly see was Lucy's body. Natsu had watched her sleep before – heck, he'd seen it just a few hours ago – but this was different. There was absolutely no sign of life in her, none of her normal glow or energy. He felt like he was back in Mercurius, seeing that body so unmoving and lifeless and draped in black. It felt just the same, except this was the real Lucy, the present Lucy, his Lucy. Not a future version, not Gemini, not an Edolas counterpart. His Lucy…

"Lucy," Natsu croaked. Clearing his throat, he tried again, in a slightly louder voice, "Lucy, wake up. C'mon, Luce, this ain't funny!_ Lucy!"_

But Lucy didn't move. Natsu knew she was a sound sleeper, but there was no way she would ignore him when he sounded like this. Happy was sobbing quietly in the cave to Natsu's right, and in front of him Maleficent had thrown her head back gleefully, her wicked laughter echoing around the clearing. The sound cleared Natsu's head like a slap to the face.

"LUCY!" Natsu leapt to his feet, his fists coated in flames and his face full of rage. "What have you done to her?! _What have you done?!"_

"Never fear, oh prince," said Maleficent. "Your dear Lucy is not dead. My apple put her under a sleeping curse."

Natsu remembered the apple he had seen with the bite in it. It was still lying on the ground where he had kicked it, just about a foot away from Lucy's limp hand. His heart leapt hopefully at the knowledge that Lucy wasn't dead, but it was not enough to quell his fire.

"Well, I'll just wake her up, then," snarled Natsu. "Right after I _burn you to a crisp!_"

"Look out, Natsu!" Happy cried as the Dragon Slayer lunged forward, his fury adding fuel to the fire covering his fists. Before he could even get close to Maleficent, however, the hulking shadow before stepped in front of her, and Natsu screeched to a halt just before he plowed into it. It was a man about as big as Elfman dressed in animal skins and wielding a large ax, a grim scowl barely seen through the thick, tangled mess of facial hair covering his mouth and jaw. Natsu dodged as the man swung his ax at his neck, and he tried to duck around and grap Lucy, thinking he could have Happy take her to safety while he dealt with the two enemies. The Huntsman saw through it whirled around with surprising speed, kicking Natsu in the side. Natsu cried out as he was thrown backward and crashed into the side of the mountain.

_"Natsu!"_ Happy cried, clambering out of the cave and running to his friend as Natsu slid down the rocks slope to sit on the gorund, aching all over and his head swimming. The Hunstman had shifted his ax into his left hand and grabbed the back of Lucy's vest with his right, throwing the slumbering Celestial Mage none too gingerly over his shoulder as Maleficent pointed her staff at the mirror. The ghostly face in the glass grimaced before bursting into emerald flames, the entire glass full of swirling green light. With a caw, the crow on Maleficent's shoulder took flight, diving straight at and through the magic mirror with a flash.

_A portal,_ Natsu realized with a thrill of terror. _No!_

"I'll be taking this sleeping beauty, Natsu Dragneel," Maleficent declared. "If you wish to wake her, then come find me, and be sure to bring all of your anger and strength with you. I will be waiting."

"No waiting," Natsu snarled, staggering to his feet. "Now. I'm taking Lucy back _right now!"_

As Natsu lunged forward, Maleficent smirked and stepped through the fiery mirror, followed quickly by the hulking Huntsman. "NO!" Natsu roared as he jumped forward, his hand outstretched, trying to catch Lucy's fingers as the hung limply over the Hunstman's back-

Natsu rebounded off the glass and fell back with a cry. The clearing was still. The mirror was smooth and clear, the green flames gone, along with Maleficent, the Huntsman… and Lucy.

Natsu ran to the mirror and grabbed its frame. He refused to believe they were gone, refused to believe he had failed again. He picked the mirror up from its resting spot against the tree trunk and ran his hand along the back of it, as if he hoped to find some door or a latch. "No, no, no!" he murmured over and over again as nothing but smooth wood met his fingers. He scratched at the wood as if he could rip the portal back open, but all he got were bloody and splintered fingers and scratch marks on the wood. There was no escape door or anything in the tree trunk where the mirror had sat, and the ground was firm and holeless. The only signs that anything had happened at all were the mirror and the bitten apple that lay at Natsu's feet. Lucy was gone, just like Evergreen and Juvia. She was just _gone._

"No, no… no… NO! BRING HER BACK!" Natsu screamed into the glass, shaking the mirror as if he could shake his best friend out of whatever land his enemies had dragged her through. "BRING HER BACK AND FIGHT ME, YOU COWARDS! YOU BRING MY LUCY BACK _NOW!"_

But all Natsu could see in the glass was his own anguished reflection. Choking back a sob, Natsu threw the mirror as hard as he could, listening as its impact with the ground shattered the glass and broke the frame several yards away from him. But the sound brought him no satisfaction. It only reminded him of the sound his own heart was making. His eyes were burning as he punched the trunk of the apple tree, both the trunk and his body trumbling from the force of his pain. He punched the tree again, and again, the bark scarping and bruising his knuckles without his notice. He just needed something to destroy, something to vent his anger out on because if he didn't he would explode, though the only thing whose destruction would satisfy him now where Mavis knew where with the person he cared about the most held captive in their grasp. He stopped punching the tree, but kept his fist pressed against the bark, leaning against it as he bowed his head and grit his teeth, desperately trying to hold back tears. It was just like what happened back in Mercurius. That witch had taken something precious to him right before his eyes, and he had been unable to stop it. He felt the first tear roll down his cheek.

"Natsu," Happy whimpered, still standing by the cave with snot and tears staining the fur on his miserable face. He desperately wanted to comfort his partner, but he suspected that this would be a bad time to get close to the Dragon Slayer now. His suspicions were confirmed when Natsu's quaking body suddenly caught fire, the flames growing and spreading at an alarming rate, and Happy leapt back into the safety of the cave, pulling his limp tail in with him and shielding himself behind what remained of the wall. The fire turned into an explosion like a super nova. It was comparable to the sun crashing into the forest. Smoke and fire rose into the inky blue sky like a raging giant, blocking out the moon and encompassing the entire clearing as Natsu threw his had back and gave a tormented roar, his flames reflecting the state of his heart.

* * *

"What in the name of Mavis happened here?!"

Erza, along with Gray, Wendy, and Carla, stepped out of the partially demolished cave and into the entirely demolished clearing. The group had arrived at the forest early that afternoon, due to a train delay that forced them to take a magical car to the nearby city. After talking to the man who had sent the job request Natsu and Lucy had taken, the group had trekked into the forest, going a little slower than usual because Erza had used up so much energy driving the car; Gray had to support her most of the way, and while she was now walking on her own, she still looked rather pale. Wendy's nose led them to the place where the lake used to be, only to find that Natsu and Lucy had finished their job earlier than expected and had already left. By that point, the sun was starting to set. By the time they'd reached their friends' abandoned camp, night had long since set in. It was after midnight by the time they found the enterance to the mountain cave, and it was a couple more hours before Natsu and Lucy's scent trail lead them down the right path to the place they were now.

"It looks like Natsu happened," Gray said grimly in response to the requip mage's statement. "All over the place. This must have been the explosion we heard and the smoke we saw earlier."

"Was there a battle?" asked Wendy nervously. "Do you think Natsu won?"

"It's hard to be sure," murmured Erza. "You say their scent trail stops here?"

"Hai. Everything is just swallowed by fire here. I can't smell anything but smoke."

"Well, they must be around here somewhere," declared Carla. "Let's start looking."

There wasn't much left to look for, however. The clearing was completely bombed to say the least. The trees ringing aroun the space were scortched and broken for several yards around. The earth was grasslass, hard and dry and choked with ash. The only thing standing in the entire area was a skeleton of a tree that stood right in the center of everything, charred and black and fighting to remain upright. It must have been in the center of the blast, but how in the heck had it survived?

Erza heard something crack beneath her foot, and she looked down to see shards of glass scattered beneath a blanket of ash. Bending down and picking up a shard, she found herself staring at a reflection of a jagged part of her face. It was a broken mirror, and while the frame must have been reduced to dust in the fire, the glass pieces had remained. Strange, she thought, gathering up the pieces carefully and wrapping them up in a sack cloth she had brought along to collect any evidence.

As Wendy and Carla walked around the edge of the clearing, searching among the broken and burned limbs of dead trees, Gray walked down the middle of the clearing, heading toward the only standing tree. As he walked, he noticed several small, black lumps littering the ground several yards around the base of the trunk. At first Gray thought they might be coal, but when he tapped one with his foot and noticed it squashed beneath his boot, he realized it was a type of fruit. Curious, Gray crouched down and-

"Don't touch it."

Gray shot back up to his feet and whirled around, half prepared to fend off an attacker. Wendy, Carla, and Erza, who also heard the voice, also looked around. The voice had come from the other side of the tree, in a spot that was hidden from their sight, and though the immediately knew who it belonged to, they had never heard Natsu Dragneel use that sort of tone before. As the girls raced over, Gray walked around the tree to see the Dragon Slayer crouched down at the base of the tree, his back to the Ice Mage, slowly turning something small and round in his hands. Happy was standing in front of Natsu, staring up at his long-time partner with teary eyes full of worry and his tail lying limp on the ground.

"Natsu," said Gray in a low voice, his eyes going wide. _Oh, no._

"Natsu-san!" Wendy exclaimed as she, Carla, and Erza came to a halt at Gray's side. "What happened? Are you guys… Oh, Happy, your _tail…"_

Neither of the two teammates looked anwhere near okay, physically nor mentally. They were both covered in what looked like hundreds of small scratches, like they'd been caught in a tornado of razor sharp paper. Natsu had several burns that resembled those he got when hit by Laxus's lightnight and his hands were scraped and bloody, and as Wendy had pointed out, it was clear that Happy's tail was broken at the base. Said Exceed looked over at the group, his expression scrunching up as if he were about to start sobbing, and Natsu's hands froze. The group saw that what he held in his hand was an apple, uncooked and gleaming an almost too perfect red. There was only one bite taken out of it, showing the pure white flesh beneath the scarlet skin. Natsu's body began to shake.

"Natsu," said Erza, taking a step forward with her hand outstretched, but Natsu flinched away.

"They took her," Natsu choked. "I couldn't stop them. They took her right out from under me!"

Wendy's hands were clapped over her mouth, and Gray appeared frozen in shock. None of them had ever heard Natsu's voice so broken, so full of raw pain and guilt. Erza reached out again, and this time Natsu allowed her to rest her armored hand on his shoulder. "Who took her?" she asked quietly.

Finally, Natsu turned. His eyes were bloodshot, the skin around them splotched red as new tears started to form in them. His face was so full of unadulterated anger and anguish, Erza quickly backed away. The last time she had seen an expression even similar to this, she had been about to sacrifice herself to the Tower of Heaven. Natsu wasn't just broken. He was _shattered._

_"Maleficent,"_ Natsu snarled. A solitary tear rolled out of his eye and dripped of his chin, landing on the open flesh of the apple still clutched in his hand.

* * *

_This is the way you left me  
I'm not pretending.  
__No hope, no love, no glory,  
__No Happy Ending._

_This is the way that we love,  
__Like it's forever,  
__Then live the rest of our lives,  
__But not together._

~ "Happy Ending" by Mika

* * *

A/N: So there's the end of the NaLu Kidnap Torture chapters. The next chapter will be back at the guild and will introduce some other characters, which I'm actually quite excited about, so I hope you guys will look forward to that next week! My week is pretty jammed packed so I don't think I'll get another chance to type until next Sunday. Please review and let me know what you think!

Love y'all!

~Elodie

Thanks to the following for favoriting/reviewing/following!:

**xXChiasaHimuraXx**: Haha I still need to try that! XD

**saphiredragonstorm:** YAY! I'm glad you liked it! This one was the one I really wanted to write well, since NaLu is my main OTP for Fairy Tail. I hope you like the next one, too! It's gonna be intense!

**Lolibeagle:** Mashima's always up to something XP that man is the Japanese Steven Moffat, I swear (for those of you who know who he is lol)

**Umeko-bby:** Thank you! :D

**BlueFairy10:** I'm super glad you enjoyed the last chapter! Maleficent definitely has something in store for Natsu, but Natsu has something ready for HER, too! NO ONE just takes away his Lucy and gets away with it, darnit!

**Kim123kn:** Thanks for the follow, dear!


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** Happy late halloween, everyone! :D

So I had the best halloween ever! My boyfriend took me out to dinner and then to a haunted house and then we watched _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2_ at my house and it was awesome :D I also dressed up for work - I work at a grocery store and I just wore a witch's hat and a cloak over my uniform - and even though I was the only one in costume it was pretty great XD I've been thinking about posting a cute little GaLe halloween oneshot that I came up with that involves the song "Thriller" by Michael Jackson, so be looking out for that, even though it's past halloween already!

On another note, have any of you dear readers read a little book called The Fault in Our Stars? Cuz I just finished it. And. I. DIED. I'm currently reading Allegiant by Veronica Roth, which will probably also kill me, and then I'll be reading the House of Hades by Rick Riordan, which will kill me all over again. Oh, and let's not forget to mention this week's chapter of Fairy Tail!

Death by Fiction. This will be my epitaph, people.

Anyway, here's the next chap! Hope y'all enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen: Joining Forces**

It was very late morning in the town of Magnolia, and everyone in the Fairy Tail guild was tense. Two of their comrades had fallen, and though it was known that a third person had been abducted, only the members who were in Fairy Tail during the Grand Magic Games knew exactly who while the others only knew it was a friend of Erza's. Erza, Gray, Wendy, and Carla had left yesterday to find Natsu, Happy, and Lucy, and the fact that they had not yet returned had most people very on edge. Gajeel, despite his denial of concern the night before, almost never let Levy out of his sight, much to Jet and Droy's displeasure. Laxus and the rest of the remaining Raijinshuu had formed a team with Elfman to keep watch over Lisanna and Mirajane. Lyon was back, along with his old team from Lamia Scale, and they were currently out searching for more clues to the missing people's whereabouts with Elfman and Meredy. But now, Lamia Scale was not the only guild offering Fairy Tail assistance. Ichiya, Nichiya, and the Trimens of Blue Pegasus had just arrived at the guild, as well as, to great general surprise, Kagura and Millianna of Mermaid Heel and Yukino and the Twin Dragons (and their respective Exceeds) of Sabertooth. While Lyon had been the one to contact Blue Pegasus, it was a complete mystery how the other two guilds had become involved. Until…

"It was Meredy who contacted Millianna and me, though we were just as surprised to hear from her as all of you were," said Kagura as her cat-loving companion nodded alongside her, an unfortunate Pantherlily trapped tightly in her embrace. "We got her message late last night, so we got on a train the first direct train we could find to get here."

"But why did you come in the first place?" asked Mira with a frown. She, Lisanna, the Raijinshuu, Shadow Gear, Gajeel, and Pantherlily were sitting at a table near the guild entrance as the newcomers from Blue Pegasus, Mermaid Heel, and Sabertooth stood before them. Mira continued, "We're very glad to have you here, of course, but we were under the impression you didn't take too kindly to Jellal. You must have known he was one of the people taken since it was Meredy who contacted you."

"We're here more for Er-chan than Jellal," piped up Millianna, rubbing the top of Pantherlily's head affectionately while Gajeel glared at her. "We haven't completely forgiven him for what happened with Simon. Demo…"

Millianna looked over at Kagura, who bowed her head sagely. "We've recognized that we may have wrongly accused him. My brother's death wasn't entirely his fault, nor was it Erza's. We would like to make it up to both of them."

Accepting this answer, Laxus turned his gaze to the Trimens. "And you five are here because…?"

"You would think that would be obvious," said Hibiki slowly, closing his eyes with a small smirk.

"The lovely ladies of Fairy Tail are being threatened," said Ren smoothly as he ran a hand through his hair.

"What kind of shining knights would be we if we abandoned the damsels of an allied guild in a time of crisis?" simpered Eve with a small hand flourish.

"_Mehhhn,"_ breathed Ichiya and Nichiya as they simultaneously struck sparkling poses. The girls in the watching group exchanged sheepishly looks as everyone else sweat-dropped. Gajeel snorted.

"If you guys are done throwing flowers all over the guild hall," said Sting with a smirk, "I believe we have more serious issues on our plates here?"

"That's right, we do," said Freed suspiciously, glaring at the Sabertooth group. "For example, what are you three doing here?"

"Mira-san contacted me and said she thought Lucy-sama was in danger," said Yukino, and the eldest Strauss gave her a warm smile. Though the white-haired Celestial mage seemed to have permanently rejoined Sabertooth, she was wearing the same clothes she had worn in Crocus when she visited Lucy and Natsu after her excommunication: a sky blue tank-top with darker blue straps and a matching dark blue miniskirt with blue flats. Her resemblance to Lisanna had not changed, causing many double-takes from Fairy Tail members when she first walked into the guild. It was clear that she was very happy to be back in the Sabertooth fold, as she stuck close to Sting and Rogue and was even holding Frosch very comfortably in her arms. At the moment, however, she was clearly very worried for her Fairy Tail friends. "When I decided to see if I could help, I told Sting where I was going and he and Rogue decided to come with me."

"Our enemy is kidnapping guild members," said Rogue, speaking for the first time as he looked at Yukino out of the corner of his red eyes. "We were not about to let you come alone."

"Fro thinks so, too," said Frosh, smiling creepily at the group as he snuggled deeper into Yukino's arms.

"We came on the same train the Trimens and Mermaids did, as a matter of fact," said Sting, smirking at Kagura and looping an arm around her shoulders. "When we all found out we were going to the same place, we formed a big group. We've been getting along quite swimmingly, wouldn't you guys say?"

Kagura glared at Sting out of the corner of her eye before turning away, pushing Sting's arm off her shoulder with less force than anyone else would have expected. And was that the smallest of blushes painting the swordswoman's cheeks?

"I thought Yukino would like to help," said Mira, glancing a little apprehensively at the two Dragon Slayers, "but I must admit I'm surprised to see you two here. Is it really okay for you to leave the guild, Sting? You're Sabertooth's new master, after all."

"Daijoubu," said Sting with a crooked smile and a half shrug. "Rufus is looking after things while I'm here. I haven't been able to get out much since I took over the guild, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to stretch my legs a bit. Besides, like Rogue said, I wasn't about to let Yukino come all by herself with a bunch of lunatics running around."

"If anyone can help, we can!" declared Lector from his perch on Sting's shoulder. "We know how to handling vanishing things and such."

"No word from Jiemma or Minerva then, I'm assuming?" asked Laxus.

"Not a peep," replied Sting, his tone darkening suddenly. "That's part of the reason why we decided to come. The Lady – Minerva – tends to use this style of patterned kidnapping, so we thought we'd come sniff her out if we could."

"What if that was her plan?" asked Jet suspiciously. "It's possible that she drew you guys out of the guild to take it back for herself or her dad."

"Dunno why they'd want it back. They practically handed it over to me when they abandoned us after the GMG."

"You did shoot a hole through Jiemma's stomach," Rogue reminded his partner-turned-master, who once again shrugged it off.

"That was because I thought the guy killed Lector. I wasn't _trying_ to take over the guild."

"Anyway," said Mira with a smile, "we're really glad you all came. I think it'll help our friends a lot to know you're all here supporting them and assisting the rest of us in this case."

"Natsu and the others aren't back yet, then?" asked Hibiki, now talking seriously.

"No," answered Lisanna anxiously. "Natsu, Lucy, and Happy were supposed to have taken a train back here last night, and Erza, Gray, Wendy, and Carla went to intercept them before something happened. But since neither party is back yet, something must have happened to them."

"Why did Gray and Erza go?" asked Sting. "Didn't they lose people, too?"

"Hai," affirmed Mira. "Juvia and Jellal. They're some of Natsu and Lucy's closest friends, so they wanted to make sure they're okay. Plus, they thought it'd be a good chance to look for clues."

"You lot are sworn to secrecy about Jellal, by the way," said Laxus, glaring at the Blue Pegasus and Sabertooth folds. "No one else needs to catch wind of our involvement with him. Are we clear?"

"Like crystal, mate," said Sting rather sarcastically. Laxus glowered at him as lightning started crackling around his ears. Levy quickly jumped into the conversation before either of the blond males could get carried away.

"Anyway," she said hastily, "as we wait for Natsu's group to come back, what we're trying to do is pinpoint which people in the guild are in the most danger from these kidnappers. We're also trying to figure out who our enemy is and where they might be hiding. So far it sounds like a group of people, possibly a guild of some sort, but we only know of three members: The Wicked Stepmother, Ursula the Sea Witch, and Shan Yu the Hun."

"Those are fairy tale villains," observed Yukino.

"And the three who were taken are Evergreen, Juvia, and Jellal, correct?" asked Hibiki, who was typing the information into his archive.

"Hai," said Levy. "And all three of these villains asked for a specific person in the guild to come after them: Elfman for Evergreen, Gray for Juvia, and Erza for Jellal."

"So we've got a hero, a victim, and a villain," said Ichiya. "It truly does seem like they are following the fairy tale parfum."

"But stories don't have a scent," said Jet and Droy sheepishly.

"There's more to it than just that," Hibiki declared, the golden light of his archive magic reflecting in his analytically skilled green eyes. "Each villain has targeted a person who matches the description of the fairy tale they've come from."

"Ever has a Cinderella type of personality?" Bickslow snorted.

"She really doesn't like being told what to do," said Freed thoughtfully. "And some versions of the tale portray Cinderella to be quite feisty at times. I can see where they match up."

"Juvia fits the Litter Mermaid persona because she's a water mage pining after someone she can't have," continued Hibiki, "and Erza is the perfect heroine for a story like Mulan for quite obvious reasons. Another commonality in the victims is that the person who is to come rescue them is someone to whom they are romantically attached."

"But don't try telling any of them that," sighed Lisanna.

"We've already figured that stuff out," said Mira. 'What we need to know now is who their next targets will be and where they are taking their victims."

"We could figure that out if we knew what fairy tale was coming next," said Ren. "If we knew that, we could get an idea of who in Fairy Tail fits that story's description, and therefore who these villains will go after next as long as they continue the pattern."

Sting and Rogue suddenly perked up and turned around. Yukino looked between the two of them and asked, "What is it, you guys? Do you smell something?"

"Oh, yeah," replied Sting bracingly. "I'd recognize that scent anywhere. It seems like Natsu and his group are back."

Everyone in the group who wasn't already standing got to their feet as the guild doors opened and Erza, Gray, Wendy, and Carla entered the guild. The hall grew suddenly quiet.

"Thank Mavis, you're back!" cried Mira, rushing around the table to meet them. "We've all been so worried! Where's-"

Mira stopped in her tracks as she saw their expressions. The four of them looked around as Natsu stepped through between them, and the noise in the guild went from whispered conversations to dead silent. There was no trace of a smile or a laugh upon Natsu's face. His onyx eyes were dark and hollow, as if someone had scooped out everything that made him Natsu and left an empty void behind. He refused to meet anyone's eyes, but stared determinedly at the guild floors, his lips pursed tightly. There were bandages covering his knuckles, hiding the scars that Wendy had not yet been able to fully heal. Happy stood at Natsu's heels, tears still in his eyes and his tail, though no longer hanging limp, wrapped tightly at the base with bandages. There was no "We're home!" or "Aye, sir!" upon their return. No one in Fairy Tail had ever seen Natsu and Happy look so dejected and depressed. No one needed to ask to know that Lucy was gone.

"Oh," Mira gasped, her hands over her mouth. Levy whimpered, and Sting put a comforting hand on a teary eyed Yukino's shoulder.

"Oh, Natsu," said Lisanna, moving forward to embrace her childhood friend. Natsu pushed her arm away gently and shook his head. Without a word, he stepped past her, leaving Happy behind, and made his way through the hall to the back of the guild, where he opened the door to Makarov's office and shut it behind him with a sharp snap.

"Who did it?" Laxus asked the remaining members of Natsu's team.

"Maleficent," replied Erza as she set down two bundles she had carried in her hand: Natsu's and Lucy's camping packs, which they had retrieved from the pair's campsite before leaving the forest. "She lured Lucy away and tricked her into eating a poisoned apple."

"_Maleficent?"_ Levy repeated with wide eyes. "But she's in _Sleeping Beauty_! The apple is from-"

"_Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs_," finished Gray darkly. "We know. I guess our enemy didn't see a reason for there to be a difference. Either way, Lucy's been put under a sleeping curse and taken Zeref knows where by one of the wickedest fairy tale villains of all time."

The group fell silent for a moment as the news sunk in. Sting shook his head. "Four people in four nights," he murmured. "Someone out there is seriously ticked off at you guys."

"What- what the heck are _you_ guys doing here?!" Gray exclaimed as the group recognized the non-Fairy Tail members in their midst.

"We received word of your dilemma," said Kagura as Erza stared at her and Millianna with wide eyes. Millianna released a very relieved Pantherlily and rushed forward to hug Erza tightly.

"We're here to help you, Er-chan," the young girl said tearfully, "and make up for how we accused Jellal. We wanna set things right."

Erza stared down at her for several seconds before smiling and closing her eyes, secretly holding back tears as she hugged her old friend tightly. "Arigato."

"I've never seen Natsu-kun look like that," said Lector, sounding surprisingly forlorn.

"Fro thinks so, too."

"You should have seen the state he was in when we found him," murmured Wendy, exchanging a look with Erza and Gray. The group quietly agreed not to share the intimate details of Natsu's breakdown for the sake of the Dragon Slayer's pride, but they did explain, as the entire group moved to sit down at the table, how they came upon Natsu in the clearing and the story Happy had retold to them of Lucy's capture. Millianna had picked up a traumatized Happy and moved him onto the table, where Carla and Pantherlily were trying their best to comfort him as the others discussed what happened.

"We stayed in the clearing for a while, trying to reopen the portal," said Gray once they finished telling the story, "but of course, like all the other times, nothing we did made an ounce of difference. It doesn't help that the crazy pyro broke the mirror…"

"The mirror was the portal?" said Levy, and Erza set a sack she was carrying on the table and emptied out its contents, which included not only all the mirror shards they had been able to find, but also the apple Lucy had tried to eat. It was most likely because of its magic that it still looked crisp and fresh, as if it had been bitten seconds ago rather than hours.

"So if you found him at around two in the morning," said Sting as Levy, who was the best with puzzles, set to piecing the mirror back together, "how come it took you almost twelve hours to get back here?"

"We were pretty deep into the forest, far away from the town where the train station was in," explained Gray. "As it was, Natsu was refusing to leave the clearing until he found Lucy. Erza had to knock him out before we could get him out of there. By the time we got back into town, we'd missed the morning train, so we had to wait for the noon one. Natsu and Happy were both pretty banged up, so we went to a hotel for some rest and healing time before we boarded the train. Happy gave us the details on exactly what happened to Lucy while we were there."

"Happy did?" Sting looked over at the blue Exceed, who was still completely silent and miserable despite Carla and Pantherlily's condolences. "Natsu-san hasn't said anything?"

"Before Erza knocked him out, he was talking of nothing but finding Lucy and beating the tar out of Maleficent and the Huntsman," said Gray. "He's barely said a word since he woke up."

"He's been inconsolable," said Wendy sadly, looking down at her hands folded in her lap. "I've never seen him so withdrawn and solemn before. He didn't even get motion sick on the train!"

Sting, who'd been resting his chin on his fist, face-planted into the table as his elbow slipped out from underneath him. Picking himself back up, he sputtered, "He was _that _distracted?! That's… that's unheard of! I mean, sure, you can get accustomed to motion sickness for a little while, but to ignore it entirely when you get it as bad as we do-"

"This wasn't the first time," said Gray, suddenly recalling something. "Erza, remember when Lucy was absorbed into Oracion Seis's airship thing a few months ago?"

Erza frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"After she blew it up, we were all riding on top of Byron's octopus creature trying to find her. I expected Natsu to get motion sickness when he woke up on top of the thing, but he caught Lucy's scent. He became so focused on that, he didn't get sick. I'd noticed it then but forgotten about it until now."

Sting, Rogue, Yukino, Kagura, and Millianna were all staring at Gray. "What kind of insane expeditions to you people get into?" asked Kagura.

Lisanna laughed. "I think what's going on now may be our craziest adventure yet."

"Oh, I don't know," said Gajeel with a smirk. "Edolas was pretty crazy."

"Edo-_what?_"

"Wouldn't you like to know."

Everyone looked round as the door to Makarov's office opened. Natsu and Makarov both stepped out, still talking in low voices, just finishing whatever they had been discussing. Makarov gave a grim nod and murmured something, and Natsu returned the nod before striding back across the guild toward the doors. Though his face was still uncharacteristically serious, there was now a dim glow burning in his eyes. It was nothing compared to his usual bright flame, but it was a step in the right direction.

"Where are you going, Natsu?" Erza asked as everyone stood up.

Natsu paused at their table without looking at anyone. "I'm going to join Elfman and the others in the search," he said, his voice gruff from not using it in so long. "Lucy is out there somewhere, and I am going to find her and bring her back. No matter what it takes."

"We'll come with you," declared Gray as he and Erza stepped forward. "We need to find Juvia and Jellal, too."

"We'll join the search as well."

Natsu looked around, his eyes widening as they landed on Sting, who had been the one to speak. He then noticed Yukino, Rogue, and the other non-Fairy Tail members in the group for the first time. How had he not sensed them when he walked in? "What the- what are you guys doing here?"

Sting smiled mischievously. "We heard Fairy Tail was in a bit of a rut and though Fiore's second strongest guild could come lend a hand. Besides, Natsu-san," he added, cracking his knuckles with the heel of his hand, "I've been training a lot since the GMG. Once we find these missing people and get this whole mess sorted out, I want a rematch. One on one, just you and me!"

Yukino rolled her eyes and Rogue closed his as several other people made irritated noises to proclaim their indignation. "_Timing,_ Sting!" Kagura hissed under her breath, but Natsu just stared at Sabertooth's new guild master for several seconds before one side of his mouth curled upward. It was only a ghost of his usual toothy grin, but it was a smile nonetheless. "Sounds good, Sting."

"Millianna and I will come as well," declared Kagura. "Is that okay, Millianna?"

"Sounds spiffy to me!" declared Millianna happily.

Sting smiled at the swordswoman. "You can't just stand to be apart from me, can you, Mermaid?" he asked her under his breath. "And we've only just officially met."

"Don't push your luck, Tiger," Kagura snapped at him. Rogue and Yukino exchanged knowing looks behind their backs.

"Frosch and I will stay with Happy-kun," Lector volunteered.

"Fro will, too!"

"I know, I just said that!"

These statements seemed to snap Happy out of his depressing reverie as he looked up at the burgundy and cosplaying Exceeds in surprise. Lector flashed him a cheeky smile and a thumbs up as Carla and Pantherlily exchanged grateful smiles.

Just then, Ichiya and Nichiya decided to dramatically step forward, sparkles all around their faces. "We shall come and join the search," declared Nichiya.

"Yes!" agreed Ichiya. "We shall sniff out the parfum of the missing and assist the lovely Erz-"

Both Ichiya and his Edolas counterpart cried out as Erza's armored fists fell hard on their heads. "Actually," she said in a rather shaky voice, "it is probably best for the Blue Pegasus group to stay here. We'll send Lamia Scale back as well, since they must have been searching for a while. We'll be enough with Sabertooth and Mermaid Heel assisting us."

"I'll go to the library again and see if I can dig up anything on what's going on," said Levy, who had just finished piecing the mirror together and reattached the shards by writing the word Mend in Solid Script over them. "I know I must be missing something, I can feel it! Maybe this apple and the mirror will give us some clues."

"We'll help you, Levy!" Jet and Droy instantly volunteered.

"Guess that means we'll be stuck in the library too, Lily," Gajeel sighed, though he didn't look entirely displeased.

"I'll help as well," declared Hibiki. "I can use Archive to help speed up the research. I may have something in my database that could be of use. I'll also use Archive to contact you if we find anything."

"Sounds good," said Gray with a nod. "Thank you guys for helping. We'll be back around sundown if we don't find anything."

The group went their separate ways, exchanging brief good lucks and farewells as they went. Natsu was at the head of the search party, his expression grimly determined as a dark fire continued to burn in his eyes. _'Don't worry, Lucy,'_ he said in his mind, part of him hoping his thoughts could somehow reach her. _'I'll find you. I will always find you.'_

* * *

_Sleeping Beauty  
__Sleeping Beauty fair  
__Gold of sunshine in your hair  
__Lips that shame the red, red rose  
__Dreaming of true love in slumber repose  
__One day he will come  
__Riding out of the dawn  
__And you'll awaken to love's first kiss  
__Till then, Sleeping Beauty, sleep on_

~ "Sleeping Beauty" from Disney's 1959 _Sleeping Beauty_

* * *

A/N: To all you Oncers out there: oh yes I did. OH YES I DID. What did I do, you non-Once Upon a Time fans ask? Did I just have Natsu recite Snow White and Prince Charming's little mantra at the end of the chapter? OH YES I DID! XD

I'm really happy I got to write Mermaid Heel and Sabertooth into this. Especially Sabertooth. Despite how much of a jerk he was at the beginning of the GMG arc, I've grown very fond of Sting Eucliffe, and Rogue and Yukino as well. And I really wanted to include Kagura and Millianna in the whole thing with Jellal as well. Not to mention I have discovered a love for the crack pairing StingxKagura! I discovered them in another fanfic I read and decided that I thought it could work, which is weird cuz I don't like a lot of crack pairings. Plus, if I'm messing with the semi-canon pairings' love lives, why not mess with the others' too? XD

So anyway, what did you guys think? You like? Not much action here, but that's because this next chapter is going to reveal some BIG plot points! We're getting into the really exciting stuff now :D So be looking forward to that! Have a great week, minna-san!

~Elodie

Thanks to the following for reviewing, favoriting, and/or following! Arigato!:

**Firehottie**

**Mcdinh**

**Theflur**

**Twili-imp18**

**xXChiasaHimuraXx:** lol gomen'na love :P hopefully this chap is a little easier on you

**Lolibeagle:** Natsu is definitely the kind of person who feels everything very intensely. I'm glad you caught that through the words! And Steven Moffat is a screen writer for BBC, which is a British TV channel. He writes for Sherlock and Doctor Who and everything he writes seems to rip the viewers' hearts out and tear them into tiny shreds of pieces before their very eyes. He's also a fan of dramatic deaths and ironies and all sorts of torturous crap. A lot like Mashima . I CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED TO THE RAIJINSHUU IN THIS LAST CHAPTER. They better pull through this. And I hope the next chapter is Erza going to save Jellal!

**Umeko-bby**: lol I'm not actually that fluent in Japanese :P what was it you said? Thanks for the review!

**Wolfrunnerable12**: I am VERY EXCITED about writing that particular battle :D

**brain31washed**

**Guest**: Fairy Tail's sad song always makes me cry regardless of what I'm doing XP Yes poor Natsu is going through a very difficult time right now. I wish I could say it gets easier… but nope XP Thanks for the review!

**LuckyLifeSmile**: Oh my gosh. THANK YOU! You actually made me choke up with happiness! I always get really excited when I see that someone really gets into something I'm writing. I definitely wanted to try and make this story unique even though the idea is a little cliché, so I'm super glad you found this to your liking! Here is your next chapter, and thank you again so very much for all of your kind words!

**Kahlen369**

**Samuraigirl666**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Konnichiwa, minna-san! I'm back for my weekly update :) This is where stuff starts to get interesting! I got a lot of really kind reviews on the last chapter so I want to thank you wonderful people for that, you guys really boost my confidence as a writer! For those of you who've clicked on my story for the first time, thank you for giving it a chance and reading it this far! I hope this continues to entertain and enthrall you as it continues :) So without furthur adieu, here is chapter fourteen!

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen: A Grimm Discovery**

Levy was about ready to pull her hair out.

She'd been in the guild library, researching everything she could find about portals, curses, fairy tales, and anything she saw as related to these topics, ever since Natsu and his group had left. Which was about five hours ago. Even though the library had no windows, Levy was sure it was past sunset. She'd gone through hundreds of books and performed countless research spells. Her fingers were covered in paper cuts from flipping pages and ink from writing notes and skimming the print, and her eyes were aching from scrutinizing words through her Gale Force Reading Glasses. Jet, Droy, Gajeel, Pantherlily, Hibiki, Eve, and Freed were also helping in the search (Freed took Ren's place since the dark-haired Trimen found himself… rather preoccupied upon Sherry's return), and while most of the guys didn't have a clue about research, Hibiki's and Freed's resources turned out to be invaluable.

And still. They hadn't. Found. A freaking. Thing.

"Don't give up, Levy," said Jet as he sat across from her with yet another book in his hands. "We'll find something!"

"You're the smartest, most studios mage in Fairy Tail," declared Droy confidently. "You haven't failed us before, and you won't now!"

But that was exactly what Levy was worried about. She'd never taken this long to find information before, and there were people's lives hanging in the balance. Four people had gone missing in four days, and who knew how many more were going to be targeted in the days that followed. Heck, someone could even be kidnapped tonight! Wouldn't it just be typical I she failed the one time the guild desperately needed her to succeed?

Gajeel, who was searching through a nearby bookshelf, turned and narrowed his eyes at the Shadow Gear boys. "Read the situation, you two. That's not the type of encouragement she needs."

"Since when are _you_ good at reading situations?" Jet demanded irritably.

Eve walked up behind Levy and shifted his book into one hand so he could put the other on her shoulder. "We know you're trying your hardest, Levy-chan," he said in a light, soothing voice. "We'll do everything we can to support you. Don't stress to much about it, okay?"

Levy, who had been staring down at an open text book with her hands knotted in her hair, finally looked up and gave the blonde Trimen a small smile. "Arigato, Eve," she said with a sigh. Jet and Droy pouted as Gajeel glowered at the littlest Trimen. Even though he knew very well the blonde kid had said exactly the right words to comfort the script mage, Gajeel didn't like that he had been the one to say them.

Pantherlily, who was standing on top of Gajeel's head in order to search through the higher shelves, looked down at his partner and smirked. "You could have easily told her that too, you know," he murmured.

"Why the heck would I say something mushy like that?" Gajeel hissed. "Shut up, Lily!"

"Levy-chan!"

The group looked around as Hibiki and Freed ran over from the other side of the library. Hibiki, with whom Levy had become very well acquainted with in the last five hours, was carrying a very old, very large book and had an enlightened look in his jade green eyes.

"Hibiki-kun…?" Levy replied, hardly daring to hope for good news as the two boys stopped at the table she was sitting at.

"Did you guys find something?" asked Pantherlily asked, jumping down from Gajeel's head to stand on the tabletop.

"I think so," Hibiki replied, setting the book on the table. A puff of dust exploded around the book, making the worn black leather look even more faded. "I was running the library's catalogue through my Archive and found this listed, though it hasn't been checked out for several years."

"It wasn't even on any of the shelves," supplied Freed. "We found it under the desk, buried beneath a huge pile of books too old or worn for anyone to use."

"What is it?" Levy asked, pulling the book toward her as the guys moved to stand behind her chair, looking over her shoulder. Hibiki leaned an arm on the back of her chair and opened the book to a page he had marked by sticking his tie in it.

"It's a book of lost magic," he said as the pages crackled like dead leaves over a forest floor. He took his tie out of the book and shoved it into his jacket pocket. "Really old magic. Like, before Zeref old. This text is in an unfamiliar language, but my Archive was able to translate parts of it and I think this chapter might have something that could help us. I hoped Levy-chan could…"

Levy pushed her glasses further up her face, tucked a strand of periwinkle hair behind her ear, and bent over the book, her hazel eyes flickering over the ancient text. Her sharp eyes seemed to pierce through the ancient symbols on the page, tearing them down and divining them into discernible phrases and modern words. "I know how to read this language," she murmured. "I taught it to myself years ago, so I could use it on translation missions."

"So what does it say?" Gajeel asked, leaning around Levy's other side to get a look over her shoulder. Between Gajeel and Hibiki, it was difficult for the others to get a good look at the book, but seeing as no one but Levy could read it, it didn't seem to matter. With a hard swallow, Levy squinted at the text and began to translate out loud.

"_Storytelling magic was once known to be the strongest form of magic known in this world. Those who practiced it in ancient times were highly respected and feared by mage and nonmagical folk alike, and the most skilled were worshipped as gods, for storytelling magic gives a mage the power to bring life to words. Much like Pict Magic, a holder-type magic that allows a mage to utilize drawings to their advantage, a mage who practices storytelling magic can read aloud words printed on paper and use what they wrote to fulfill whatever purpose they desire. Storytellers can read a description of a creature and bring it to life to fight in battle for them, carrying them across distances, or simply be a household pet for them. The most powerful of Storytellers, known as Grimms, can read aloud a writing of their own creation and have it do its bidding. This magic is only limited in the way that a user cannot control already living beings, such as people or animals, but the most powerful Grimms were known for influencing their reality with nothing but words, giving them an almost godlike ability. The only way to defeat the creation of a Storyteller or Grimm is to destroy whatever the user is reading aloud from, hence taking away their power. __The last great Storytellers were the world-reknowned Grimm brothers, Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm, who are famous not just for their magic, but for the immortal fairy tales they wrote and printed in their day. Soon after their death, Grimm magic became a lost and forbidden magic to be forgotten for the remainder of time."_

The library became deathly silent as Levy's last syllable rang through the air. She slowly took off her glasses, staring straight ahead with a stunned expression on her face as the guys surrounding her exchanged horrified looks.

"So that's it, then," murmured Jet. "There's a Grimm bringing fairy tale villains to life and making them kidnap people?"

"It seems like it," said Hibiki quietly.

"But then it could be anyone!" fretted Droy. "A member of a dark guild or someone with a grudge from the Grand Magic Games-"

"Don't be stupid," snapped Gajeel. "A Grimm wouldn't be just anyone, you heard what the shrimp read. Someone who reeks with that much magic power wouldn't need or want a guild or a team, not when they have the power of a god. Whoever is doing this is working alone and for their own purpose."

"But what purpose is that?" asked Eve. "Why would this Grimm use these villains to kidnap people, teleport them to an unknown location, and then have other people called after them?"

"It must be because of that limitation the book mentioned," said Pantherlily. "Grimms can't control real people, so this one found a different way to manipulate us. They're not really after the people they kidnapped, they're after Natsu and the rest, and they're using their victims as a control agent."

"But how are they using this magic to teleport people?" asked Jet. "This book has only given us half a possible answer. It still doesn't make any sense!"

"But now we have an idea of our enemy's power," said Freed. "Not only that, but we have a way to beat them. We have to find the book that the Grimm is reading these characters from and destroy it. That will destroy the villains and release our friends from wherever they're being held."

"Are you sure that will work?" asked Droy. "What if that actually traps the people they kidnapped?"

"Well, I don't see anyone else coming up with any bright ideas," Freed snapped.

"Even if that would work," said Gajeel, "how are we going to pinpoint exactly what book this Grimm is reading the characters from? There have to be thousands of different fairy tale books in this city, and we're not even sure-"

"Levy-chan," said Hibiki suddenly, and everyone turned to see him frowning at the script mage, "you've been awfully quiet. Is something wrong?"

Everyone looked down at Levy. She had not moved since she stopped reading, her hands resting on the open book's pages and her eyes furrowed and distant, her lips moving soundlessly as if she was mumbling to herself. "Oi, Shrimp," said Gajeel, bending down and poking the side of levy's face with his index finger, "are you al-"

Levy suddenly gasped and jumped back in her chair, throwing her hands up and nearly smacking both Gajeel and Hibiki in their faces. _"Holy crap!"_ she shrieked. "I can't believe- I didn't realize- it was- all along- _how-_"

"Levy, calm down!" said Pantherlily in alarm. "What is it?"

"The order!" she shouted, scrambling for a blank scrap of paper from among her notes and yanking out the pen she'd stuck behind her ear. "Someone, quick, tell me the order of the fairy tales whose villains kidnapped the others!"

"Evergreen was first," said Hibiki quickly, and Levy started scribbling. "The stepmother from _Cinderella_ took her, right?"

"Next was Juvia," said Gajeel. "She was taken by Ursula from… um…"

"_The Little Mermaid,"_ Jet finished rather dryly.

"I knew that, Twinkle-toes, I was getting there!"

"Stop arguing, you two!" Freed hissed.

"Jellal was taken by the villain from _Mulan,"_ said Pantherlily, "and Lucy was taken by the villain from _Sleeping Beauty_ through the methods of _Snow White."_

Levy finished writing and stared at the page, holding it with shaking hands. "I_ knew_ the answer was staring me in the face," she whispered, her tone full of horror. "But I never thought… never…"

"Holy crap, Shrimp, quit muttering to yourself and tell us what's going on already! You're freaking us out!" Gajeel exclaimed.

"_Cinderella,"_ Levy read from her list. "_The Little Mermaid. Mulan. Sleeping Beauty_ and _Snow White_. Next in the order is _Beauty and the Beast_."

"How do you know?" asked Eve.

Levy turned in her chair to face the boys, holding up the paper and making eye contact with Jet and Droy. "It's the same order as the table of contents in the fairy tale book I got Asuka for her birthday."

"Wait," said Gajeel as Jet and Droy gasped. "Are you saying… what _are_ you saying?!"

Levy leapt to her feet and shoved the old book back into Hibiki's hands. "Hibiki, you, Eve, and Freed go tell Master Makarov about the Grimm. Pantherlily, you need to go and find Natsu and the others and get them to the guild hall. Jet, Droy, Gajeel, we need to get to the Connell's house ASAP! What time is it?"

Jet checked his watched. "Almost 8:30."

_"Eep!_" Levy squealed, knocking her chair over as she raced toward the library doors, the other boys quickly following close behind. "We need to go!_ Now,_ before the Connells read that last story!"

* * *

_Your magic, white rabbit,  
__Has left its writing on the wall.  
__We follow like Alice,  
__And just keep diving down the hole.  
__We're falling and we're losing control  
__You're pulling us,  
__Dragging us,  
__Down this dead-end road.  
__We follow like Alice,  
__And just keep diving down the hole._

~ "White Rabbit" by Egypt Central

* * *

**A/N:** Ha ha HA, now we're getting somewhere! What do you guys think about the Grimm? Do you think that's the real cause of their problem? What do the Connells have to do with all of this, if anything? What's gonna happen next?!

Review, please! :D

And for you fellow Americans out there, Happy Veterans Day tomorrow! Please remember all the brave men and women who have given their time, their dedication, and their lives to protect our freedoms and our country.

Best wishes to all,

~Elodie

Thanks to the following for favoriting/following/reviewing! I love you guys! :D

**WendyxRomeo100**

**Umeko-bby:** YES. TFIOS made me ache inside so much. Like I had a sneaking hunch on what was gonna happen just from what I've heard about it but it still hurt. And OH MY GOSH I ACTUALLY THREW THE BOOK WHEN I GOT TO THE END OF ALLEGIANT I WAS SO MAD! An amazing book of course but I HATE that *claps hands over mouth to contain spoilers for those who haven't read it* I totally didn't expect that to happen out of all the people that could have died I did NOT see that one coming and it wasn't fair and I just I can't asdfkajd;gklasdgkl;dfadkgklad;hg! And I have noticed a lot of Percabeth in House of Hades so far! YAY PERCABETH! And Rick Riordan continues to outdo himself with his clever wit as per usual XD I love you too dearie and thanks for reviewing! :D

**Bumbee88**

**LuckyLifeSmile:** Thank you for your wonderful reviews darling! I'm glad you thought Natsu and Ichiya were accurate, I was particularly worried about my portrayal of Ichiya he's a hard one to write for some reason. Hope you liked this chapter, too!

**Izzylilia3**

**Lolibeagle:** Haha British people are awesome! Lol I'm American too I just happen to watch a bit of British TV. Be grateful you don't know the works of Steven Moffat darling I just watched the last aired episode of Sherlock… that coupled with all the other things I've finished this week, I've been having a major feels fest. This week's chapter of the manga was pretty great I thought, there was a total Miraxus moment in there and I was so happy! I wonder what's gonna happen with Minerva too I feel like she's gonna fight Erza and Erza's going to be the hero and save her but I don't want that to happen because Minerva's just one of those terrible people I want to hate forever! I think Natsu's battle with Jackal should be interesting too, and I really wonder what's going to happen with the next chapter. Since it's called White Inheritance, I think it'll either be about Gray and Silver or be about Sting and Sabertooth getting involved. I wouldn't complain about either one. And I have a 30% love-70% hate relationship with cliffhangers so I totally understand where you're coming from XP

**jingalingbomb**

**Loserwin2:** Kawaaaaaiiii thank you so much for your wonderful review! I definitely like to react intermingling and twisting plotlines and while there are certain lines I don't cross (often at least – I still can't forgive myself for Happy's tail), I definitely admire the heart-wrenching writing skill that Moffat, the OUAT writers, and the beautiful Hiro Mashima himself all have and share with the world. Villains really do get the best songs, and most of the time – unless they do something that really makes me despise them – they are my favorite characters as well! (For example, I saw Thor 2 this weekend and while I know a lot of girls my age just wanted to see Thor with his shirt off I was more looking forward to Loki and his wicked sexy wit XD) And you're right about fairy tales, too, they do get pretty dark a lot of the time, I remember watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs a year ago and being like the Evil Queen wants the Huntsman to do WHAT?! O.o As for that happy ending…. Well, you shall see dearie ;) Thanks again for your amazing review!

**Death's artist:** nice username!

**RoseGuardian23:** Life and school have a really bad habit of getting in the way of the things we enjoy, doesn't it? XP AND I KNOW I LOVE ONCE UPON A TIME. The episode with all my confessions just… UGH. Especially Snow and Charming's, when that happened I actually moaned out loud and clutch my chest because I felt like I'd been stabbed in the heart. And then Emma, poor Emma… although I have to thank Emma too because she's given me some insight on other things too…. *twists imaginary goatee around finger with a wicked grin* I definitely love their plot twists and their takes on the traditional tales we all know and love.

**Pandachan120:** Hehe I'm looking forward to writing that battle XD

**Guest:** I'm sorry, but is this Through the Winds of Time? No, it is not. I appreciate how much you've enjoyed that story, but I do not appreciate you making irrelevant reviews about it on my other stories. I'm sorry if this sounds rude, but since you're just a guest and I can't send you a polite, private message, this is my only way of getting through to you.

**NudgeTheAngel**

**Azizee:** Haha I'm so glad you liked me including the other guilds! I though Sting and Kagura were interesting too. I've got a couple other ideas for crack pairings as well I might try out too. Thanks for the review!


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